The Troubles of Neville
by KhlytieRhoda
Summary: Neville is the BWL. Harry's a normal kid with a normal life, until he gets to Hogwarts and his sorting goes wrong. Head Auror James Potter's kid, a Hufflepuff? Plus, turns out being the BWL's best mate involves a lot more than sharing lessons - they say You-Know-Who's back in town. What's a kid to do with all this trouble? Follow the Marauders' #1 Rule: jump in head first.
1. Hop on the Hogwarts Express

**Title: **The Trouble with Neville

**Disclaimer:** JKR (and whoever else she says so) owns all. This story was written for fun, not profit.

**Rating:** T

**Pairings:** None as yet

**Summary: **Neville is the BWL. Harry's a normal kid with a normal life, until he gets to Hogwarts and his sorting goes wrong. Head Auror James Potter's kid, a Hufflepuff? Plus, turns out being the BWL's best mate involves a lot more than sharing lessons - they say You-Know-Who's back in town. What's a kid to do with all this trouble? Follow the Marauders' #1 Rule: jump in head first.

**A/N: **You know those stories where Neville is thought to be the BWL, but it's actually Harry? This isn't one of them. You know when Neville IS but Harry is better suited for it? This isn't one of them either. This is an idea on what it would be like to be a friend to the BWL. How much it would probably make your parents worry from all the trolls and basilisks and You-Know-Who but because he's your best mate you keep doing it anyway, and how much it messes up your life and sometimes you might want to just have a normal life that didn't revolve around him but you never say it because how unfair is that?

Hope you enjoy!

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**The Troubles Of Neville**

"Mum I can't find my copy of _Curses and Counter Curses_," the bespectacled eleven year old child yelled as he shoved his head and shoulders under his bed, squinting through the darkness. "I need that book!"

"You do not Harry James Potter!" With pursed lips his mum poked her head around the door frame, brushing auburn hair out of her eyes. "You are not taking that book to Hogwarts! If I get any owls from the Headmaster -" Harry rolled his eyes and continued hunting.

"Blah blah blah," he muttered, knowing she was just repeating what she'd said a hundred times before. A square silhouette caught his eye and he grinned. _Checking under the bed works every time_. Grabbing the book, he wriggled back out and batted his clothes to try and get rid of the dust. He crossed his floor as his mum snapped at his younger brother to hurry up and change from further down the corridor, stepping over a cracked remembrall and several old posters, before dumping the book on top of the robes in his suitcase. "That's the last of it!" he said, pleased, and looked at the time.

9:56. Perfect timing. Of course, that they had just under an hour to catch the train was probably why his mum was stressing so much.

Harry bent down and reached for the lid to his suitcase. He pulled it down and found it didn't shut properly – he had too much stuff. He scowled and pressed down with his hands a few times, but the lid bounced right back up. _Alright, you asked for it! _He stood up, pulled the lid down and then sat down on it. Under his weight the inside of the suitcase crumpled, giving him enough space to pull the zip around and be done with it.

"Phew," he breathed, running a hand through his hair and ruffling it up. His mum always frowned disapprovingly at the move, but he figured that since it was always messy he might as well make it look like it was deliberate. If he _had _to have permanent bed-hair, he'd rather make the most of it.

"Peter! I thought I told you to go and get changed!" Grinning, because it was always fun to watch someone else get in trouble for a change, Harry got to his feet and poked his head outside of his bedroom door. At the end of the corridor he saw his stressed mother glaring at his younger brother, who was staring at the floor in his pyjamas.

"Don't wanna," Peter mumbled petulantly, fingers fidgeting with his robes. His dark red hair was also messy, like Harry's, but less-noticeable.

"You don't-" his mum repeated incredulously and then spotted Harry watching them, "have you finished packing yet?" she snapped and Harry grinned wider. _For once, I don't have to worry about getting in trouble!_

"Yep!" he said proudly. "Managed to fit it all in and everything."

"Good! Then you won't mind if you help Peter get changed, will you?" Although it was phrased like a question, Harry knew it was an order. That didn't mean he had to like it.

"Why do _I _have to help him change?"

"Just help your brother!" she said, turning around and walking down the stairs.

"'just help your brother'," he mimicked, scowling, and walked over to his brother. He grabbed Peter's arm roughly and started to tug him back through the corridor. "C'mon, you gotta change."

"I can change myself!" Peter tore himself out of his grip. "You don't need to help me!" Harry rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply, and pushed open the door to Peter's room. He made a sweeping motion and with a pout Peter entered his room. Harry stepped in after him and shut the door, before gazing around at the walls. The red and gold paint would've been odd to anyone who wasn't used to it – but as this room was Harry's old room, he _was _used to it and it didn't bother him.

"Jeez, your room's even messier than mine," he said, staring at something indefinable on the floor. He looked back at Peter to see him sat on his bed and rolled his eyes. "Come on, get changed already! I don't want to be late!" he frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. _Sometimes he's such a bloody pain!_

"Fine," Peter grumbled, getting up and picking up the closest set of clothes he could find. "Why do I have to get dressed up anyway?"

"Because," Harry said.

"Because isn't a reason!"

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't!" Peter stomped his foot, one leg in his trousers and the other out. "Why do I have to look good anyway? You're the one going away!" Harry sighed. It was a question he'd asked his mum loads of times, feeling the same way his brother did, but he'd never liked the answer.

"Dad's in the newspapers a lot so we have to look good for a photo at any time," he crossed his arms over his chest, "'cause if we look bad we make him look bad."

His brother puffed out his cheeks in annoyance as he hopped around his room, pulling his trousers up. "What does that matter? S'not like he's even around very much." With a small yelp, he tripped and fell on his face. Harry sniggered and, after helping him upright, ruffled his hair. "Harry! Don't do that!" Peter pushed his hand away.

"I'm just making you look good Pete!" he said, his face a mask of mock seriousness. "Mum'll be annoyed otherwise, so let me handle this." Peter giggled and Harry reached up, messing up his brother's hair even more. "Ah! Perfect! Now you look like a proper star! So, ready to go down?"

"I guess," Peter said, suddenly quiet. Harry frowned, knowing his brother was thinking about Harry's leaving, and then had an idea. He turned around and crouched down.

"How about a piggy-back down?" he suggested. Peter squealed with delight and clambered onto Harry's back. The eleven-year old's eyes widened as he staggered forward, trying to regain his balance. _I don't remember Peter being so heavy before! _He thought ruefully, finally managing to straighten up. "Jeez, when did you put on weight?"

"I'm not fat!" Peter pouted, tightening his grip around Harry's neck, and Harry snickered. He bent down to pick up a round, stuffed toy on the floor and chucked it to Peter.

"I didn't say you were." they exited the room, Harry bending over slightly. "Aaaand Potter has the quaffle," he zigzagged down the hall, providing the commentary as well as pretending to be Peter's broomstick. "He's making good progress, dodging the other players – watch out! It's a bludger!" he threw them to the left. "Aaaaand a nice save by Potter! He's back on route, he'd going for it, just look at this boy go!" they reached the railing over the stairs and Harry grinned. "He's at the hoops, but will he score?"

"Yeah!" Peter yelled and he threw the toy over Harry's head. It sailed down the stairs to hit someone walking past in the shoulder. "Oops," Peter muttered and Harry gave a sheepish smile to the injured party when the man looked up.

"Sorry Uncle Remus, we didn't know you were there," Harry couldn't keep a smile off of his face as he knew why the man was here. "When did you get here?"

"That's quite alright," Remus, a greying man with painful looking scars on his face, said with a warm smile. "And not too long ago. You two seem in quite bright spirits considering the way your mum's panicking. She made it sound like the end of the world." Harry shrugged, lowering Peter off of his back onto the floor, and then he leant against the railing.

"I don't see why. I'm all packed and Peter's sorted; we can leave whenever mum's ready," he bit his lip as the angle of the light highlighted the bags under Remus's eyes. Not that it was surprising, considering how close to the full moon it was. Remus always looked worse around the moon, but he refused to talk about his 'furry little problem' with Harry or Peter (which was quite annoying).

"Ah. I see, it's _that _kind of panicking," Remus said, obviously knowing something Harry didn't. "In that case, you should go and bring your things down here so she'll have less to worry about." Harry gave a big sigh.

"So much effort," he complained but turned around and walked back to his room. "I can't wait until I can use magic to move things around." he said to no one, picking up his trunk and dragging it out the room. "And the first spell I'm gonna learn is how to make things light as a feather..." he dragged it across the landing until he was back by the railing. Peter had disappeared but Remus still stood patiently at the bottom, so Harry graced him with a brilliant smile and started to walk down the stairs. He dragged his trunk behind him and with each new step it went _thud._ _Thud. thud._

"Pick it up and carry it!" his mum yelled from somewhere and Harry snickered, reaching the bottom.

"Yes mum!" he said, pulling his trunk down the last few steps in a _thudthudthud_. "She's so easy to rile up," Harry dropped his trunk and let go, glancing at his uncle. "I don't see why she's so stressed anyway. She's already done this." he glowered at the floor. "I have much more reason to be worried than her. What if I don't make any friends? Or get in Gryffindor? What if everyone hates me, or I'm the last in classes or, or I horrendously embarrass myself-" he swallowed as Remus held up a hand, silencing him.

"It's okay to be nervous Harry," he said sympathetically. "I know I was when I first went to Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts..." Harry repeated. "Hogwarts..." _I can't believe it's finally here! _It was a very surreal feeling, almost as if it wasn't really happening. He'd dreamed of this moment his entire life and the years had seemed to drag along, torturing him with the wait for that _one day _he was able to go to the place he'd known about long before he understood what it was for.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"I can't believe it's finally here," Remus said, shaking his head. "It feels like yesterday that you were still in your nappy and unable to pronounce your 'r's." Harry felt his cheeks warm in embarrassment.

"Uncle Remus! Don't start with the embarrassing stories now!" he begged. Remus laughed and reached out to ruffle Harry's hair. Harry darted out the way and stuck his tongue out, and Remus grinned.

"Whatever house you're in, I'm positive you'll enjoy Hogwarts. For all of us, your mum, dad, Sirius, it was some of the best time of our lives," his smile turned tender then. Harry nodded, knowing that it was at Hogwarts Remus had found friends who accepted him for who he was - a werewolf - and had even gone out of their way to try and help his suffering. They were still friends decades later. "By the way, did your mum tell you Neville Longbottom is going to Hogwarts this year too?"

"What?!" Harry's eyes were wide like saucers. "_Neville Longbottom's _going to Hogwarts with me?!" Remus had a sly grin on his face; obviously he'd been deliberately holding onto that piece of information until the last minute.

"Yes. His birthday's very close to yours so you'll be in his year group, probably in his classes." Harry's jaw dropped at the thought of actually talking to the _Boy-Who-Lived._ Everyone knew who the Boy-Who-Lived was; even if he didn't make an appearance very often (the last time was around two years ago now). He was the most famous person in the Wizarding World.

After all, it wasn't every day that a one year old kid survived a killing curse and killed the darkest wizard of all time; Voldemort (or You-Know-Who to the older families). Everyone knew what happened that night. Voldemort had attacked the Longbottom's, when Alice and Neville were home alone. Alice had died and Voldemort tried to kill Neville, but died instead. The internal alarms had gone off in the house and Frank Longbottom and the rest of the aurors had come running.

Even if Neville hadn't been seen for two years, however, he was still in the papers at least once a week. Mostly it was people who said they'd seen him somewhere or other when they really hadn't, but there were some who pretended to be him, get money and then make a quick get-away. Apparently he lived with his grandmother and his dad worked at the Ministry.

Remus snapped his fingers in front of Harry's face to get his attention again. "Harry, there's a reason I told you. I've met Neville a few times and he seems like a very lonely child. I think it would be nice if you tried to be friends with him."

"Sure, okay," Harry shrugged. He'd planned to do that anyway.

"Harry! Peter!" his mum appeared in the doorway. "It's time to go!"

"Yeah I'm ready," he sighed and grabbed his trunk as his little brother dashed out of the living room and clung to his waist. Harry wrapped an arm around his shoulders and felt Remus take a hold of his. His mother held out a book, probably a portkey. "Are dad and Sirius gonna meet us there?" he asked as they waited for the portkey to go.

"We'll see," his mother said after sharing a look with Remus. Harry's shoulders slumped, but then the portkey activated and they disappeared.

**LALA**

Kings Cross Station, the place that every witch or wizard took when they wanted to get to Hogwarts, wasn't cool at all. It needed a paint job, and he'd seen much better craftsmanship in Italy, and he had a few chips dug under his stubby nails from when he'd accidentally scratched his hand along a metal bar in his haste to keep up with his family.

It was alright for Peter, who had tight hold of his mum's hand and didn't need to worry about being separated. The eleven-year old had no one to help_ him_ and he was struggling from his heavy trunk, his bulky hand-luggage and the thick crowds that surrounded the shorter-than-average child.

_Well, actually, that's not true, _he admitted a few seconds later. _Uncle Remus did offer but I'm not stupid. He's struggling enough on his own in his state. I'm happy he came but I don't want him to collapse! _He had seen the exhaustion that lined his Uncle's face; this close to the full-moon, it was amazing Remus was even walking. Harry suspected as soon as they had said goodbye, Remus would go home and sleep the rest of the day.

His family didn't seem to care about his predicament however. Harry huffed, blowing his black bangs away from his face, and wondered if getting separated would make them care, but then he shook his head. It would be stupid because his mum might reconsider the thought of him going to Hogwarts altogether.

Merlin knows she'd threatened it enough in the past few weeks whenever he tried to practice his magic in preparation for his school year.

For the first time he became aware of the stares being directly at his family. Or, more specifically, being directed at him. He was accustomed to stares from all his ventures into Diagon Alley (being related to famous people had built up a tolerance to being watched) but he was still curious to what the muggles, who didn't know his famous relatives, were watching - maybe it was his owl? Were owls not common in the muggle world?

As if she had read his mind, his owl hooted from inside her cage. Harry looked down and smiled softly, the familiar awe settling in as he tried to get used to the fact that she was _his_. He hadn't had a pet of his own before – well, he'd once had a pet Bowtruckle, had found it in the garden injured and taken care of it, but it had gone back to the wild eventually. There was also the family cat, Merry, but he was lazy and preferred Peter over Harry. Hedwig, the beautiful snowy owl, was his and he wasn't ever going to let her go. He reached a finger through the bars, stroking her white plumage and marvelling at how soft it was.

"Harry! Hurry up!" he jumped, snatching his hand away like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Coming!" he yelled, answering even though he didn't have a clue where his family had disappeared to. After a few minutes of searching and being shoved aside, he eventually spotted them beneath a shiny sign with the number '9' on and made his way over to them. "So, what now?" he asked, slightly breathless, when he managed to reach them. Coming to a halt he looked around at the space, trying to spot whatever was making his mum and Uncle Remus smile in that weird way which said 'I know something you don't know'. "Is something supposed to happen?"

Now that he thought about it, he didn't really know much about getting on the platform. He hadn't given it much thought, too busy worrying over whether he'd get into Gryffindor or not. Everyone in his family expected him to get in easily, but he wasn't so sure. What if he wasn't brave enough? If he didn't make Gryffindor, where would he go? Slytherin? The thought revolted him - who would want to be a slimy snake?

"Can you spot the platform Harry?" Remus asked. Harry frowned and then turned, only realising that there was no platform 9 and three quarters advertised.

"Err…"

"Remus," his mum swatted his uncle's arm before smiling at Harry. Peter grinned where he clung to her hand. "Follow me, alright? Remus will come after you," and then she turned and walked through the wall. Harry stared before Remus nudged his shoulder and, with a gulp, Harry dragged his things up to the wall. With a last look over his shoulder to Remus, he closed his eyes and walked forward. He never did hit a wall, instead bumping into his mother.

The platform looked different to the rest of Kings Cross Station – newer, for one, but the most impressive thing was the scarlet train with 'Hogwarts Express' written on its side in golden letters.

"Wicked…" he breathed and looked around. The platform was full of noise, owls squawking and adults shouting and kids wailing, and Harry tried to see if there were any other people his age but there were so many people he couldn't tell.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" he heard his mum say to Remus.

"It's red!" Peter exclaimed, eyes wide. "Mum can't I go to Hogwarts with Harry? Please please please?"

"Your time will come soon dear," his mum replied but she was busy looking around as if expecting someone. Harry stared, hoping it was what he thought it was. "I thought he said -" her expression brightened and Harry spun around, breaking into a wide grin as he saw what his mum had.

"Daddy!" Peter was a blur as he crashed into his dad. Harry moved so he was standing beside his mum and then stayed put. He wanted to run over, just like his brother, but he was well-aware that there were people watching them and didn't want to embarrass himself. It wasn't everyday that people saw the famous James Potter and Sirius Black together. His dad spun Peter around, tickling the other as he made his way towards them. Next to him, Harry's godfather Sirius was shaking his head.

"Dad! Sirius!" he beamed. His dad put Peter down and, with a grin, slung an arm around Harry's shoulder.

"So, you excited?" his dad squeezed his shoulder and Harry looked up at him. It was like looking in a mirror, as he and his dad looked a lot alike, but his dad was much stronger and taller. Harry hoped he would grow up looking just as cool as his dad did.

"Yeah," he said, but the reminder he was leaving for Hogwarts brought back the nerves. His stomach flip-flopped.

"I'm so glad you're here James, Sirius," his mum said warmly. Sirius scoffed.

"And miss Harry's big day? Not a chance! I wasn't about to let him go off without a proper goodbye, was I?" he snorted derisively, dragging Harry to him. He lowered his voice. "So, Harry, when you get there I want you to pull the _biggest _prank imaginable-"

"Sirius!" his mum was probably regretting her earlier comment now, if her tone was anything to go by. Sirius ignored her, making Harry grin.

"- to announce our heir's arrived at Hogwarts. It'll probably be easier if you get people to help out, make sure you target some slimy Slytherins and if you can get the odd teacher in then it's a win-win situation."

"That's enough Sirius," his mother snapped and Harry looked at her, spotting the smile she was trying to hide. A quick glance at Remus showed his shoulders shaking silently from mirth, and his dad wasn't even bothered trying to his chuckles.

"What? I'm just giving him a few tips, nothing wrong with that. By the way Harry, if you ever need to close something, mischief managed usually works." Sirius winked at him. Harry wished he could ask out-right, but instead just nodded as if he understood. Sirius beamed, and that was the best thing he could've hoped for.

While his mum and Sirius started arguing, his dad bent over to whisper in his ear. "On the subject of mischief, I've slipped something in your bag. It made our time at Hogwarts a lot easier, and I'm sure it'll do the same for you." he winked but, when his mum shot his dad a suspicious look, straightened and adopted a mock serious face. "And to try to work hard in all your classes," he said.

"Oh, very convincing," his mum muttered. Harry grinned.

"Harry!" Peter flung his arms around Harry who blinked in surprise. "Don't go!"

"Hey, c'mon mate," Harry put his hands on his brother's shoulders. "You've gotta be a big boy once I'm gone, okay?"

"I am a big boy!" the seven years old jammed a finger into Harry's chest. "Take that back!"

Harry pursed his lips and pretended to scrutinise the kid. "Hm… well, you've gotta grow a bit more," he circled around his brother. Peter puffed his chest out but couldn't stop from turning around as Harry did so, defeating the original purpose. Realising it was a lost cause, Harry stopped and bent over so his hands rested on his knees. "Tell you what, when I come home the first thing I'll do is see if you're ready to be a big boy."

"You promise?" Peter brightened and, when Harry nodded, exclaimed, "I'll become a big boy, I will!"

"Course you will," Harry ruffled his hair and glanced around the platform. It was quarter to eleven, the platform filling up as everyone arrived at the same time – not too early, not too late. He was almost overwhelmed by how many students there were and hoped there would be enough space on the train for everyone.

Shrugging, he turned to look back at his family. The thought he wouldn't see any of them for four months was quite scary and he found he didn't want to go on the train just yet, didn't want to say goodbye, but they took the decision from him.

"Try to be a good student, okay Harry?" his mum swept him into a tight hug, her hair tickling his cheek. Harry felt his cheeks redden and, after a quick glance to check no one was watching, hugged her back. He was surprised that just from her hug he felt a little less nervous. "Don't forget your studies."

"Yeah yeah," he said and shrugged as she pulled back. To his horror her eyes misted over.

"My baby, all grown up…"

"Mum…" he bit his lip.

"Come on Lily, you're embarrassing the poor kid," his dad stepped in and wrapped an arm around his wife, pulling her back so Uncle Remus could hug him.

"Just be yourself, that's all anyone can ask," his uncle said, easing the anxiety knotting Harry's stomach. He pulled away but before Harry knew what was happening he was snaffled for a noogie.

"Ow, Sirius! Sirius! Lemme go!" he whined, trying to break free. Unfortunately, Sirius Black was strong and had a firm grip. Added to his determination to not let go and there was no surprise Harry couldn't escape. Harry felt Sirius wrap arms around his waist and draw him close, until it felt like they were the only ones in the world.

"If you're ever in doubt, remember this: I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," Sirius said.

"What?"

"Remember it, okay?"

"What are you saying, Sirius?" his mum demanded.

"Just guy stuff Lils, you wouldn't understand."

"Right," his mum rolled her eyes.

"Harry," Harry looked back at his dad who had a soft smile on his face and a far-away look in his eyes. "I had the time of my life at Hogwarts and there's nothing I want more than for you to have the same. Always remember that we'll be here for you no matter what," he suddenly snapped back to the present and met Harry's eyes. "There is nothing in this world I wouldn't do to keep you safe."

Harry wasn't sure what to say, sensing his dad had just said something big but he couldn't expect much trouble to happen at Hogwarts, so what was it?

Then there was a loud shrill whistle and everyone froze.

It was the warning whistle - the one which said there were only ten minutes remaining before the train left.

"He's going to be late!" It was Harry's mum who broke the silence with her panicked sentence. Suddenly everyone flew into motion. Harry was tackled by Peter, who seemed determined to not let him go, and his dad picked up his trunk while his mum took Hedwig's cage, and it was up to Sirius and Remus to try and manoeuvre Harry onto the train whilst pulling Peter off of him.

The latter was what took the most effort. By the time Harry was free, pretty much all the students were inside the train and the second warning whistle was going off. Jumping on to the train doors, nearly tripping over his trunk, he turned around to ask his dad a question and found the doors had shut on him.

His family had already moved back, probably to get away from the train when it started moving. He couldn't see them from the door, but perhaps from a compartment window he could. It took mere seconds to dive into the nearest compartment, startling the poor boy already sat in it. In his haste he didn't notice the other and, fiddling with the window clasp, eventually managed to open the window.

He spotted his family all stood together and let out a sigh of relief. They hadn't seen him and he watched them, wondering if he'd ever make friends as close as they all were. He'd love to have a comfort like that and swore to himself that he'd never ever turn his back on his friends. Only by giving loyalty would one find they got it in return. Then Peter spotted him and pointed, so Harry started waving.

"Bye mum! Bye dad! Bye Sirius! By Uncle Remus! Bye little Peter!" he yelled, leaning out as far as he dared as the train began to move. Now he was here, on the train, _actually going to Hogwarts_, he didn't feel nervous at all. He watched as Peter ran along the platform, keeping up with him as far as they could, and he smiled at them as they finally parted.

"Don't forget me Harry!" Little Peter yelled, stopped from walking off the platform only by Sirius's quick reflexes. Harry's eyes widened at his little brother's words, but had no time to reply. His brother was worried about being forgotten?! Damn it, what was Harry supposed to do about that _now_? He had to trust his parents would take care of it until he could write a letter to them.

He kept waving until his family was out of sight and even a little bit after that because he wasn't quite ready to let go. Eventually, when they started weaving around muggle London, he pulled his head back inside with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

Things were oddly quiet and for the first time, it sunk in that he was alone. He was off to Hogwarts, but he was alone. He, who had never been away from his parents more than a day, was going to be without those he loved for nearly four months. He was going to miss them.

"Hey, are you okay?" Harry jumped at the voice, eyes widened. His shocked gaze shot to the other side of the compartment, where a boy with orange hair, a smidgen of dirt and several freckles stared at him. For the first time he realised he'd barged in someone else's compartment, and he smiled sheepishly.

_Oops. I need to be more observant sometimes._


	2. Meeting the Boy Who Lived

Thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favourites!

**The Troubles of Neville**

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_Previously:_

_"Hey, are you okay?" Harry jumped at the voice, eyes widened. His shocked gaze shot to the other side of the compartment, where a boy with orange hair, a smidgen of dirt and several freckles stared at him. For the first time he realised he'd barged in someone else's compartment, and he smiled sheepishly._

_Oops. I need to be more observant sometimes._

* * *

Neither Harry nor the other boy spoke and the silence between them quickly became awkward. Having grown up in a house that was rarely silent, Harry decided to fix that.

"Hi!" he said. "Sorry to barge in on you like this. I had to wave goodbye to the family…"

"I saw," the other boy grinned.

"Oh, yeah, I s'pose you would've," Harry scratched the back of his neck with a sheepish laugh. As the other boy looked around his age, he decided to find out if he could make his first friend. "Are you a first year too?"

"Uh huh," the boy nodded. "I'm Ron, Ron Weasley." Weasley? That rang a bell. His dad had mentioned it a few times, usually when he was dealing with cases involving muggles.

"Your dad works at the ministry, right?" he asked. "To do with muggles?"

Ron looked surprised, then pleased. "Yeah, that's right. Misuse of Muggle Artifacts. You've heard of him?"

"Dad's worked with him a few times," Harry said, "says he's a good bloke, if a bit mad on the muggles."

"Yeah," Ron said with a sigh, slumping down in his seat. He looked at Harry through his fringe and then narrowed his eyes. "Hey, you know you kinda look like a mini James Potter."

"I should hope so!" Harry laughed. "He's my dad."

"Blimey! You serious?" the red-head's eyes were wide as he moved so he was on the edge of the seat. "What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Having a famous dad," Ron said, the 'duh' not said but heard anyway.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, tugging on a few strands as he shrugged and gave a lop-sided smile. "What's it like having a normal dad?"

"Boring," Ron rolled his eyes, "I wish I had an auror for a dad. The most interesting thing my dad does is collect muggle stuff."

"Yeah, having an auror for a dad's pretty cool," Harry said and nudged the other's leg with his foot and a small grin, "but you know what's cooler? Helping keep us secret from the muggle world. Think that's a bit more important than taking on a few bad guys, right?" But Ron didn't look convinced. Harry started to reach for his trunk when he realised something. "Oh!"

"What?"

"I left my stuff outside!" Harry leapt to his feet. "I'm just gonna get it, then I'll be right back." He darted out the compartment into the hallway, stumbling as the train rocked from the motion on the tracks before adjusting. He dodged around a student and found his trunk with Hedwig's cage on top, the owl looking displeased he'd apparently left her. "Sorry Hedwig, I didn't mean to leave you behind, I just had to say goodbye. You understand right?"

She hooted and, relieved she wasn't too mad, Harry dragged his stuff back to the compartment. With Ron's help they managed to get his trunk up on the shelf above the seat before settling back on the benches opposite each other, Hedwig's cage resting against the window.

"Thanks," he said, gesturing to his trunk, before sinking back on the bench. A glance outside the window showed they were starting to leave London, the houses less crowded together than they were before. It was going to be a long train ride. "Say -"

He was interrupted by a knock on their compartment door. Turning, Harry saw a toothy old lady, reminding him much of a grandmother, smiling at them.

"Anything off the trolley dears?" Harry brightened. His mother had said he didn't need any food, but he hadn't understood what she meant. Obviously, she had known about this trolley and had just wanted to surprise him. He felt about his pockets for his money, gesturing for Ron to go first.

Only, Ron didn't. Instead he held up some wrapped sandwiches with a grimace.

"No thanks, I'm all set." He didn't look very enthusiastic about it. There was a pause where Harry glanced worriedly at Ron and then looked back at the patient lady.

"We'll take a little of everything." He didn't see Ron gape at him out the corner of his eyes when he pulled out his many galleons and handed them to her, before making sure to get at least two of everything - some for Ron and some for himself. _There's so many sweets! _He was practically drooling over the vast selection and couldn't resist buying just that little bit more.

With a much lighter trolley, the elderly lady bid them goodbye and then Harry and Ron were alone again. Harry dumped all of his sweets on the seat he'd just been sitting on and went about splitting them in two. Once he'd done that, he picked up Ron's pile and placed them beside him. "Here! This is your pile," he said cheerfully. Only then did he see Ron's awed face and he frowned. "What?"

"How much money do you have?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged.

"I dunno, mum just gave me this bag," he showed Ron the now much lighter bag of money.

"Oh." Ron glanced down at his lap.

"Is something wrong?" Not understanding why the boy had suddenly gone quiet, Harry followed his gaze and realised it must be the sandwich which had him all upset. He eyed it. It had a familiar look that made him want to be sick from memory alone.

"Are you gonna eat that?" he asked.

Ron pulled a face as he held it up. "Mum'll know if I don't."

"Rubbish," Harry said and plucked the sandwich out of Ron's hands. It reminded him of one of the many concoctions Sirius had tried to cook, back when everyone was a little less wise and thought he deserved a chance. As it turned out, not only did he suck at cooking, he was also a latent pyromaniac.

Since then, the house elves hadn't allowed him back in the kitchen.

Ignoring Ron's protest, Harry opened the window and threw it out. It disappeared almost instantly, to either be crushed under the train or eaten by something that could stomach it. "Sorry," he said at Ron's surprised look. "It reminds me of my godfather's cooking, and that stuff's deadly." That drew a laugh out of the boy.

"Are you sure this is all for me?" Ron asked, glancing at his pile that Harry had given him. Harry chewed on his lip.

"If you want, we could just bundle it all together again and eat what we fancy?" he suggested. The compromise seemed to please Ron and so before too long, they were sat on opposite ends of the seat with the pile between them and discussing who had the biggest chocolate frog collection.

"I've got five _Albus Dumbledores_," Harry said.

"Seven for me," Ron said, "but I've only got two _Merlin_s."

Harry grinned triumphantly. "Ha! I've got four of him!"

"You'd think there'd be loads more wizards to make cards of," Ron said, frowning at his latest card - _Andros the Invincible_.

"I guess," Harry said as he popped another Bertie Botts bean in his mouth. "There haven't been any new cards for ages have there?"

"Nope," Ron shook his head, "but don't you think it's strange there isn't one of the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"There isn't?" Harry frowned. "I wonder why."

"I reckon a lot of money could be made if they had different versions of him," Ron said. "When he's a baby, or going to Hogwarts, or a teenager, an adult…"

"He's coming this year," Harry said, reminded of what Remus said suddenly.

"What, as a first year?"

"Yup. Maybe that's why there's no cards, 'cause he's a kid like us."

"Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived is not like us," Ron scoffed. "Compared to him we're dirt - well," he amended, shooting a look at Harry. "You're probably just a few layers below him, like concrete, but me? I'm dirt compared to both of you." The red-head stared moodily at the empty chocolate frog packet in his hands.

"That's not true…" Harry bit his lip, but was stopped when their compartment door slid open, making the two boys jump and turn. There was a girl with big bushy hair peering in.

"Excuse me," she said and Harry saw she had large front teeth. _She should get them fixed. It wouldn't be hard_. "Have you seen a toad? A boy's lost his."

Harry and Ron shared a glance before having a quick look around the compartment. The floor was littered with sweet wrappers, but none of them were moving, so Harry looked back at the girl and shook his head.

"Sorry," he said and the girl sighed. She'd probably been wandering for a really long time. "You're not going to have much luck finding it, you know. If it's gone, it's probably gone for good." _Either it got squished, or it jumped off the train – __still dead, whatever way._ If he had a toad for a pet, he'd have 'accidentally' lost it and pretend to be upset enough Sirius would go out and buy him a new pet, preferably one Harry chose.

"A toad," Ron snickered.

The girl narrowed his eyes at him. "And just what is wrong with having a toad for a pet?"

"You mean besides it's a toad?"

"It wasn't his choice!" the girl said. "It was a gift, or do you expect people to just throw away what they've been given?"

"Well, if it was a toad," Ron muttered and he and Harry shared a grin.

"And just what pet do you have, hm?" the girl crossed her arms over her chest. Ron's cheeks reddened as he scowled at her.

"What does that matter?!"

"I have an owl!" Harry broke in, gesturing to where Hedwig was sleeping in her cage. The girl's frown faded to an awed look.

"She's beautiful," she said.

"Right?" Harry beamed, pleased someone else had noticed how amazing his owl was. Ron had shrugged, like she was just another owl. "Her name's Hedwig. Do you wanna touch her?" but to his surprise, the girl suddenly looked flustered. Her hands gripped hold of the bottom of her robes.

"I – I haven't had much experience with owls," she said. "I wouldn't want to -"

"Hedwig's really nice," he said, leaping over to the other bench and opening her cage. She hooted, a little annoyed at being woken, but climbed out onto his arm anyway. Harry gestured for the girl to come sit next to him, ignoring Ron's huff and glare. "She likes it when you do this, see?" he stroked her plumage, the feathers soft under his fingers.

The girl mimicked his movements, first hesitant but with growing confidence. "She's so soft!" she exclaimed, surprised. Harry nodded and grabbed the owl treats at the top of his bag, in easy access so he'd get them quickly.

"Why don't you feed her?" he said, giving her one of the treats. Hedwig hooted and shifted, eager to have the treat.

"Be careful, owls bite," Ron warned. "It hurts too. I once heard an owl bite off someone's finger."

"What?" she gasped.

Harry hastened to reassure her. "Don't worry, it was reattached." Strangely, the girl didn't look comforted. She started to inch away from Hedwig. "But Hedwig doesn't bite. Well, she bites me, but that's because she loves me." To prove him right, she gave his finger a little nip. "See? Doesn't do any damage though."

"If pets like you, they don't generally bite you mate," Ron said.

"She's just pulling my pigtails, isn't that right girl?" Harry cooed, stroking her again. Hedwig gave a little hoot. At Ron's raised eyebrows, Harry added, "S'what Uncle Remus said she was doing and he'd know. He's the smartest person in the world."

The girl looked back at Hedwig and held the treat in the palm of her hand. Hedwig hopped down Harry's arm, bent over and had it in a flash.

"So quick," the girl said eyes wide.

"She is an owl," Harry reminded. "Loads of people have owls as pets, to deliver post. You should get used to them quickly."

"I see," she murmured before giving a small, shy smile to Harry. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."

Harry stuck out his hand and she shook it. Her palm was slightly sweaty. "Harry Potter. That's Ron Weasley over there."

"Don't you have a toad to look for?" The red-head grumbled. He clearly didn't like her very much.

Hermione gasped and leapt to her feet. "That's right! I completely forgot. Oh, I hope Neville's okay," she said and then, at their looks added, "He's the one who lost his toad."

"Neville, as in…?" Harry didn't want to believe it.

"Neville Longbottom, yes," Hermione confirmed and Harry and Ron shared a wide-eyed look. _The Boy-Who-Lived had a toad for a pet?_ "I said I'd look for him. It was easier for me than him anyway as no one knows me."

Ron scoffed and slumped back in his seat. "He's already got people doing his dirty work. Probably hasn't ever had to do anything himself."

"Actually," Hermione said frostily, glaring at the red-head, "I offered. If Neville Longbottom was recognised he wouldn't have the chance to find his pet, too busy being swarmed for being famous. He doesn't even _like_ the attention, by the way," she added just as Ron was going to speak again. "He didn't say why, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that what made him famous also killed his mother."

Ron turned pale at that sentence and Harry felt a little queasy too. He hadn't thought about that, always too focused on Neville surviving the Killing Curse, but his mum had died. The thought of his mum dying… he couldn't even comprehend it.

Hermione looked between the both of them now, softening her tone as she continued, "He really is a kid just like us."

There were still quite a few sweets to be eaten, but Harry suddenly found he wasn't hungry. He glanced at Ron who was now staring out the window, chastened into silence, and then looked back at Hermione. There was only one thing he could see.

"Look, we still have some food here," he said. "Why don't you bring him back to our compartment?"

Hermione brightened, "You don't mind?"

"The more the merrier," Ron muttered. Hermione glanced at him but the red-head avoided her gaze.

"I met a few other first years when I was looking. Should I…?"

"Bring them all here," Harry said, perking up. "First years stick together and all that, right?"

"Right!" Hermione smiled. Just before she left, she hesitated and said to Ron. "Did you know you…?"

At her look he let out a long sigh and glared at her. "Oh what now?!"

"I was just going to tell you you have dirt on your nose, right here," she said tartly and motioned with her finger. Ron scowled and rubbed at it with his sleeve.

"It builds character," Harry snickered.

"Shut up."

"I'll be back soon," Hermione said and then disappeared down the aisle.

Looking around the messy compartment, Harry knew they should try and tidy before the others (and Neville) arrived. After nudging Ron into joining, and putting Hedwig away, they set about picking up the wrappers and stuffing them in a far corner under one of the seats. Turned out a pumpkin pastry had been squished at some point so they just kicked that out into the aisle. The remaining sweets were put on the windowsill for anyone to grab.

There was a knock on the door, but when they looked it wasn't Hermione but a blond boy and girl stood looking rather hesitant.

"Hallo!" Harry greeted them cheerfully. "Did you meet Hermione?"

"The girl with bushy hair?" the girl asked. She had her blonde hair in pigtails and a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. At Harry's nod, she smiled. "Yes, she told us to come here."

"More like gave us no choice," the boy grumbled. "That girl is seriously bossy."

"Then sit, sit," Harry urged and the two settled on the seats opposite. "There are some sweets there, if you like. What are your names?"

"Hannah Abbott," the girl said and gestured to the boy. "He's Ernie MacMillan."

"MacMillan?" Harry repeated. That was a pureblood family. Not one of the oldest ones, but well-known and growing in prestige with each generation that kept it pure.

"Ninth generation," Ernie puffed out his chest. Hannah rolled her eyes; obviously it wasn't the first time he'd done it. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be related to that auror, James Potter would you?"

"He's my dad," Harry nodded, grinning at the envious look on Ernie's face. Hannah just looked confused. "I'm Harry and this is Ron Weasley."

"Hullo," Ron said.

"I've heard of the Weasleys," Ernie said. "Did you know people think you're blood traitors?"

"Kinda hard to miss, yeah?" Ron grimaced. "Did you know the MacMillans are thought to be boot-lickers and -"

"So!" Harry clapped his hands together, silencing his friend. "What house does everyone want to be in?" Ron settled back in his seat, glaring at Ernie. Ernie was glaring back and, in the awkward pause, Hannah stepped in.

"I want to be Hufflepuff or Gryffindor," she said, "but I think I'm more Hufflepuff."

"Gryffindor for me," Harry said. "My whole family's been in it."

"Same," Ron grunted. Harry grinned and held up a hand. Ron met it in a high five and Harry turned to Ernie expectantly.

"Slytherin," the boy said.

Thankfully, Hermione arrived back then otherwise Harry might have said something he'd regret. He didn't think he could imagine wanting to be in Slytherin, but from what he'd heard Ron was right in that the MacMillans did everything they could to give themselves a higher status in the wizarding world. They were pretty ambitious.

"You two made it then," Hermione said when she saw Hannah and Ernie, before she took in the compartment. "Wow, it looks much better than it was."

"What, thought we couldn't do it?" Ron demanded.

"I had my doubts about _you_," Hermione sniffed and settled into the empty seat near the door, next to Hannah. "Come on Neville." And so Harry turned and got his first real look at the Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry resolutely tried to push away the disappointment when he saw Neville Longbottom. He told himself that Neville was a kid, just like him, and he wasn't supposed to look heroic or impressive, he was just trying to go through the same process as everybody else was. But it was hard. All his life he'd heard stories about Neville Longbottom. Not from his parents, they had always complained about the hype around him, but from Remus, when he wanted to get Harry and Peter to sleep, and from friends of the family who came 'round every now and then.

Despite his parents' wishes, he had built up a... sort of iconic image about the Boy-Who-Lived and chubby, round-faced Neville Longbottom, with slightly squinty eyes and a stocky body was almost the opposite of what he'd imagined.

"Hullo," the boy said, standing in the door.

Ernie and Hannah, who hadn't been expecting the Boy-Who-Lived, were staring wide-eyed. Harry fought past the disappointment and shuffled up so there was space next to him.

"Neville, come sit here," he patted the empty space. "I'm Harry Potter."

"Thank you for letting us join you," Neville said, moving to where Harry gestured. His voice was very quiet and his eyes kept darting from everyone, obviously nervous. Harry met Hermione's gaze across the room and remembered what she'd said. _He's a kid just like us_. She had been right. Come to think of it, Neville was probably more nervous than anyone.

Everyone knew him, but did he know anyone?

"Neville Longbottom?" Ernie said, straightening up. Neville nodded and Ernie held out his hand. "Ernie MacMillan. It's good to finally meet you."

"I'm Hannah," Hannah said, still looking a bit dazed but managing a smile.

"Ron Weasley," Ron said, leaning past Harry to look at Neville. "Do you really have the scar?" Harry elbowed Ron, trying to pretend he hadn't just asked the thing Harry had been dying to.

"I _told _you -" Hermione started with a scowl.

"It's okay," Neville interrupted. "I'm used to it." Then, to Harry's delight, he lifted his fringe and the lightning bolt scar was clear for them all to see. Hannah gasped. Harry, the closest, saw it the best. It was thinner, less obvious than Harry'd imagined, almost looking like it had been drawn on, and much smaller. He'd thought it would cover half of Neville's face, forever a mark of what he'd survived, but it was only on his forehead. Maybe it was easier to hide that way.

"Wicked," Ron breathed, settling himself down on the bench opposite. "Do you remember him? You-Know-Who?"

Neville shook his head. "I don't remember anything about that night. Sorry…"

An awkward silence followed. Harry had never been one for silence, having spent his life in a household that usually had some sort of noise going on, and fidgeted for a few seconds before deciding that he'd start the conversation.

"So, how do you think you'll do against the troll?"

"What troll?" Hermione and Ernie demanded.

"Oh _no! _I knew I should've listened to Fred and George!" Ron moaned, hiding his face in his hands.

"Troll?" Neville and Hannah looked pale.

"Oops," Harry muttered. _I guess asking about the troll wasn't a good idea after all_. What if his dad and Sirius weren't meant to tell him? Would they get in trouble for revealing it? He glanced at Ron, the only one not surprised but instead telling himself off, before back to the other four wide-eyed people and shrugged. In for a penny, in for a pound. "It was just something my dad said. You know, about being sorted. You have to... fight a troll," he winced.

"Do you really think so?" Hermione asked, looking worried. "I didn't read much about trolls…"

"I've never heard of that before," Ernie said. "I was told we were taken to the forest and how long it took for us to get out determined what house we were in."

"I've heard of the troll," Ron said, over his mini-meltdown. "My brothers said they'd had to fight one."

"You have brothers at Hogwarts?" Hannah asked. "Wouldn't they know how we're sorted?"

"I just said -" Ron began, sounding annoyed.

"They won't make us fight a troll," Ernie interrupted. "That's too dangerous."

"And going into the forest isn't?" Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "My dad told me about that place. You're not even allowed to go in there there's so many dangerous things."

"I didn't read anything on trolls," Hermione muttered, having pulled out a book and was now flicking through it frantically. Hannah joined her a moment later, reading through whatever Hermione had.

"It's a better test that fighting a troll!"

"Just what is going on here?!" All eyes turned to the compartment door where a Gryffindor stood with a shiny 'PREFECT' badge on the front of his robes. It gleamed in the light as he looked from one face to the next. "I could hear you half-way down the corridor!"

"Percy!" Ron exclaimed. "Back me up here. You fight a troll when you get sorted, right?"

Percy blinked and then sighed. "You've been listening to Fred and George again, haven't you?"

"I -"

"You don't fight a troll," Percy said.

"I knew it," Ernie said smugly. "I knew we had to go into the forest."

"What? Who have you been speaking to?" Percy snorted. "Enter that forest and you'll get a detention, at the very least. You do not go into the forest to be sorted either. Honestly, what a stupid notion." Ernie and Ron were both very red now. Harry looked back and forth from Ron to Percy. This was Ron's brother? They looked... okay, they looked a lot alike, but Percy's hair was a lot redder than Ron's. Not that Ron's was a bright orange, it was just... a dull orange. And harry didn't like the way Percy held himself, like he was better than them.

"My dad told me about the troll," he said.

"Well, I don't know who he was but he was lying," Percy replied with a shake of his head. "The troll is just what people say to scare first years."

"My dad's an auror, he wouldn't -"

"Then how are we sorted?" Hermione asked, still holding her book tightly. Hannah just looked relieved. Harry sank back on his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm not going to tell you," Percy said, "I won't ruin the surprise." At their disappointed looks he added, "But you don't have that much longer to wait. I came to tell you to think about getting changed into your robes. We'll be at Hogwarts sooner than you think." He turned to Ron. "I hope to see you at the Gryffindor table later." With a nod to them all, he turned and left.

"I'm glad we're not fighting a troll," Hannah said into the silence. "That would be really scary!"

"I guess having an auror for a dad's not all that good after all," Ernie said, looking at Harry. Harry felt his cheeks warm.

"At least fighting a troll made more sense than going into the forest."

"I'm just pleased a prefect came along and told us we were wrong," Hermione interrupted.

"Yeah, Perfect Percy," Ron scoffed.

"It's good to be a prefect!"

"You _would _say that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione demanded. Sensing the beginning of an argument, Harry inched away from the two hot-heads. It seemed no matter what they said, Hermione and Ron weren't going to get along. Neville shifted next to him and, for the first time, Harry remembered he was there.

Ignoring the bickering duo, he turned to the other boy. "You're pretty quiet, aren't you?"

Neville blinked. "W-well, I…"

"Not that I blame you. We didn't exactly give you a chance to speak did we?" Harry grinned. "So what house does the great Boy-Who-Lived want to be in?"

"Everyone expects me to be a Gryffindor," Neville said.

Harry clapped him on the shoulder. "Sweet! You'll be with me and Ron then. We're gonna be Gryffindors too."

"You're really confident," Neville stared at him.

"I don't have a choice, really. Everyone in my family's been a Gryffindor, so they want me to be one too. If I'm not they're gonna have problems. If I'm a Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff I'll probably be alright, but Slytherin -" he dragged a finger across his neck. "So I'm just telling myself I'm going to be a Gryffindor and that's that."

Neville's eyes widened and then he looked out the window.

"I wish I was that confident," he said. "The whole world expects me to be a Gryffindor, but my family doesn't. My dad wants me too, but I don't know if – if I will," he shrugged under Harry's incredulous look. "I'm not very brave."

Harry nudged him in the side gently, "Well, you've got nothing to be afraid of," he said, using his practised technique of sounding confident when he wasn't. "I bet you'll end up in the right house for you and whether or not it's Gryffindor, you'll do brilliantly. Haters gonna hate, remember."

"What?"

"It's what Sirius – he's my godfather – said to me. People are always gonna hate, so just ignore them," Harry laughed. Neville finally broke into a smile too.

"Thank you," he said. "Sirius, as in Sirius Black?"

"Yeah, he's dad's best friend. He's over all the time," Harry nodded. "He's really cool."

"He looks kind of scary," Neville said.

"He does?" Harry frowned. He'd never thought Sirius was anything but friendly. "He's not. He's funny and smart and, yeah, he does really stupid things. He can't cook, he kind of blew up our kitchen when he tried. He sneaked me out on his motorcycle once. Mum went ballistic but it was worth it," he grinned.

"Don't people expect you to be like him? And your parents?"

"Huh?"

Neville turned to him. "Everyone knows James Potter and Sirius Black are really powerful. They've taken on lots of criminals that other people tried and walked away with only a few scratches. And your mum – she's a Charms mistress, isn't she?"

"So?"

"Don't they expect you to follow their example? That you have to be as good as them?"

Harry shrugged. His family had never pushed anything on him, not that he remembered. His mum and Remus, and Sirius and his dad when they were around, had tried to keep them separate from the exposure that came with his dad's job. He was always told to be himself.

"Not from them," he said. "They just want me to be myself." Wasn't that was Remus had said on the platform? "I bet your family only wants the same."

"I wish…" Neville sighed.

"Oy, Harry," Ron said, having finished arguing with Hermione, and Harry turned to him. "Hannah collects cards too."

"Really?" Harry turned to her and she nodded with a wide smile.

"Yeah, 'course," she said. "Ernie does too, he just doesn't like to admit it," she added on in a stage-whisper. Harry laughed at Ernie's glare. "What about you, Neville? Do you collect chocolate frog cards?" she turned to him.

"No, I don't," he said. "Gran didn't allow it. She said I had better things to do with my time."

"Oh," Hannah's smile faded. "Yeah, I suppose you would... I guess collecting chocolate frog cards is kind of silly, isn't it?" she looked at her hands.

"He didn't mean that Hannah," Hermione leapt in. "That's what his Gran said. Do you want to collect cards Neville?"

Neville stared at her, wide-eyed. "I..."

"She never allowed you to?" Harry realised and shook his head. "Criminal. Here, I have loads of duplicates," he rummaged around his bag. "Do you want to start? It's really easy."

"I think I have a spare chart," Hannah piped up, reassured Neville hadn't been insulting her and she'd just misunderstood. "Let me see if I can find it."

"You don't have to -" Neville began.

"Believe me, mate, it's lots of fun." Ron said and Ernie nodded. "Once you start - bam, you can't ever stop." They shared a surprised look at being in agreement, but chocolate frog cards could soothe even the most ruffled feathers. "How many have you got then?" Ron challenged.

"Sixty seven," Ernie said.

"Ha! I've got seventy four."

And thus, as the sky darkened and a platform appeared in the dusky light, Harry felt that the first train couldn't have gone much better than this. He just hoped things would be just as fun all his time at Hogwarts.


	3. The Sorting Hat

Thanks for the reviews, favs and alerts! The next update will be on: 29/08/12

**The Troubles of Neville**

* * *

_Previously:_

_And thus, as the sky darkened and a platform appeared in the dusky light, Harry felt that the first train couldn't have gone much better than this. He just hoped things would be just as fun all his time at Hogwarts._

* * *

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

Harry, along with the other five, jumped at the booming voice. It took a few seconds of craning their necks before they spotted its owner.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed. Harry agreed. The man in question was a big, beefy giant with a large hairy beard and beetle-like eyes.

"Firs' years!" was heard again and now the stream of older students was thinning out, Harry could see people who looked his age surrounding the giant.

"Let's go," he said and lead the way for the group of six. It was difficult fighting the flow of traffic but they eventually made it, stumbling and gasping for oxygen that they'd been starved while being crushed. The big, beefy man turned to them and broke into a big smile.

"Neville, good to see yeh lad! Been keeping out o' trouble I hope," he said. Neville nodded with a small smile. Hagrid did a double-take when he saw Harry and his smile, if possible, widened. "Well, I'll bet this one here'll be one to watch, ain' that righ' Harry?" the giant said. Harry smiled back, but felt very confused. "Yer parents were great friends o' mine but beware, I've got me eye on yeh," he winked before straightening and looking at the other first years. That didn't ease Harry's confusion at all.

"Righ' then. Me name's Hagrid, I'm the gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys a' Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where yeh lot'll soon be going. If yeh wanna follow me." he turned around and started to lead them off of the platform and onto a dirt path. Ron fell in step with Neville and Harry, while Hermione settled on Neville's other side. Ernie and Hannah followed behind.

"Why did he know you?" Hermione asked.

"He brought my Hogwarts letter," Neville said awkwardly. "Dad spelled it so we can't have owls."

"Is he a giant? I read about them, but it said they live in mountain areas and grow to be twenty feet tall."

"I dunno."

"Well he's certainly not a normal human," Hermione craned her neck so she could see Hagrid. "Humans don't get that big."

"Hagrid's brilliant," Neville said softly, before they came to a halt beside a lake. As Hagrid lifted the lamp, they saw a load of wooden boats waiting for them. They didn't look very safe - so naturally Harry couldn't wait to get in. None of the others shared his enthusiasm.

"Come on guys - don't be sissys," he said. "I bet it's perfectly safe."

"Everyone here? Then four to a boat! No more, else you'll end up goin' for a swim and the giant squid is looking for a tasty snack," Hagrid chortled.

"Perfectly safe with the giant squid, was it?" Ernie muttered. Harry grinned weakly.

"Let's just get in," Neville said, leading the way onto the nearest boat. "Hagrid was joking."

"I don't want to be eaten," Hannah whimpered but followed Neville. Hermione and Ernie joined them, leaving Harry and Ron to find seats elsewhere. However, there weren't any doubles left so they were split again. Harry sat with two girls and a guy, the guy giving him a relieved look as if he couldn't have imagined a worse fate than to be surrounded by girls.

"Everyone in?" There was a general consensus of 'yes'_. _"Right then." There were several shouts as the boats started moving. Harry, awed by them moving on their own off of the bank, twisted and peered over the side of the boat. He stared at his reflection, hardly visible in the rapidly dying light, and then lifted his gaze to see how the other boats were fairing.

It turned out everyone was looking in one direction - at Neville. Neville was staring straight ahead like he didn't even notice the stares. Remembering how weird it felt when he was being stared at, Harry chose to not look at Neville and instead try to keep an eye out for the giant squid. Remus liked him learning about magical creatures so he'd really like it if Harry saw one. He leant on the edge of the boat to get the best view but instead rocked the boat with his shift in weight. All four scrambled to right it and, once they were stable again, Harry was being glared at.

"What were you doing?" one of the girls hissed. "You could have sent us in!"

"I was just looking," Harry said.

"Well it's too dark to see anything!" the other one said. Now that Harry looked closer he could see they were twins.

"The squid," he shrugged, "I wanted to see if it liked girls or boys more." The girls sat back in surprise and Harry snickered.

"The boats are spelled. We won't go in," the other boy said and shot a grin at Harry. "It might be fun to try though." He threw his weight back and the boat rocked again. Harry mimicked his action and, once the girls stopped shrieking, started laughing.

"Stop trying to tip us in!"

"Don't be stupid," the other boy said. "We're just moving around. Don't know how long a ride it might be, right? Theodore Nott, by the way," the boy leaned across and held out his hand to Harry. The Nott's were another pureblood family, older than the MacMillans.

"Harry Potter," Harry said, shaking his hand.

"You look like your father," Theodore mused before turning to the girls, "and you two banshees are?"

"You're absolutely horrid!" the one on the right snapped.

"Just ignore them," her sister said, resting a hand on her elbow. "They're just being stupid boys." The right girl huffed and turned away and, after shooting them a poisonous look, so did the other.

"If yeh'll look to yeh left now, you'll see your first sight o' Hogwarts coming up." Hagrid boomed, making everyone jump. Harry twisted around and gripped the edge of the boat tightly. He was finally going to see Hogwarts, see the medieval castle that his parents, godfather and uncle always spoke of with love and warmth, see the famous building which had remained teaching students for a thousand years. They turned the corner and Harry realised that the real thing was much, much better than anything he could've imagined.

Hogwarts glowed. The glow was everywhere, no specific spot, just like the beacons of light from any windows, beckoning in the visitors with the promise of warmth, heat and laughter. The size of the castle itself was amazing, and they could only see half of it. No doubt the other two sides were the same, staggering image.

Swallowing, Harry remembered that breathing was probably a good idea. He took a few deep breaths and then glanced at his companions for their reaction. All three looked as awed as he was. He grinned and turned back to the castle, studying it as they got closer and closer. No one was really talking now, they all seemed more in their own thoughts. Seven years began the instant they walked into that castle. Harry couldn't stop the rising excitement.

The boats shuddered again as they hit the bank, making the girls squeak and clutch each other. Harry shook his head and then his attention was captured by Theodore, who was watching the girls. As they stood up and started to step out the boat he coughed and, with a shriek and a lot of flapping of the arms, the girl on the left tripped and tumbled into the shallow water. Harry saw the end of a wand slip up Theodore's sleeve.

"Parvati!" her sister gasped, hurrying out next to her.

"My hair!" Parvati wailed as her sister pulled her to her feet. "Padma, don't look at me, it's terrible isn't it?"

"Now what's goin' on here?" Hagrid boomed, pushing through the onlookers. "Had a little fall did yeh? Don't worry, you're not the firs'. Yeh'll dry quickly."

"But -"

But Hagrid was already moving on. "This way, c'mon! Stay close t' me now," Hagrid called, starting to walk again. All of the first years hurried to keep up with him, not willing to be left behind in the dark of the night. Parvati followed him, sniffling, her sister keeping an arm around her. It didn't take long for Harry to meet up with the others, Theodore slipping off to join other boys, and as Hogwarts loomed closer Hermione asked,

"What happened Harry?"

"She tripped," Harry shrugged. "Didn't you hear her? 'My hair! It's ruined!'" he laughed.

"Stop it," Hermione snapped. "She was really upset!"

"Leave off Hermione," Ron said. "S'just some fun."

"I can't believe you," Hermione strode ahead. Neville met Harry's eyes, before ducking his gaze and hurrying after her. For the first time, Harry realised Hannah and Ernie were nowhere in sight. Before he could ask Ron though, they reached the enormous castle doors.

"Those are big doors," Ron muttered next to him, and similar words were being said all around them. The only other doors like them Harry had seen was at Gringotts Bank and _that _was expected. Hagrid knocked on the door three times and there was a pause while everyone held their breath. The door then cracked open and revealed a woman in the later years of her life. She had thin glasses and streaks of grey through her hair, but her face was stern as she looked over the first years.

"Is this all of them, Hagrid?" she asked. Hagrid puffed out his chest.

"Sure is Professor. All ready and waiting for yeh to take over. One of the girls go' a bit wet though."

"Thank you."

Hagrid nodded to her and then walked into the castle, leaving behind some very bewildered first years. The woman turned around. "It would be wise if you followed me. I'm sure you want to get to the feast as soon as possible?" Although it was a question, she didn't seem to expect an answer. She walked back into the castle and they all followed until the old lady stopped walking in front of two more large doors and turned to look at them.

"Good evening and welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall. I am the Transfiguration professor and Head of Gryffindor house at this school. Shortly, you will join your school mates in the Great Hall. Who fell in the lake?" she looked around. The girl's sister raised her hand and McGonagall shot a spell at her. Steam rose off the girl before she looked as dry as the rest of them. "With that sorted, wait here until my return." It was a short and clipped speech and then she disappeared through the big doors. Harry watched her go – Sirius had told him all about McGonagall. You didn't want to be on her bad side.

There was a low hum as everyone chatted amongst each other, before a loud, arrogant tone cut through them all.

"It seems the rumours are true," Harry heard and tensed, recognising the voice. "Neville Longbottom has come to Hogwarts. I have to admit, I was expecting something… more."

"Malfoy," he muttered. Ron seemed to recognise the name if his grunt was anything to go by. Before he could think too much about it he pushed through the crowd, knowing he couldn't let Neville deal with Malfoy alone – and if Hermione was still with him, then they definitely needed a bit of extra support. He wasn't surprised Malfoy was already trying to make trouble.

"... Crabbe and Goyle," he heard as he reached the front of the group and saw the two bulky boys standing behind Malfoy. They were familiar too. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

"Hello," Neville said tightly.

"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione held out her hand. Malfoy furrowed his brow, before it cleared and he took a step away from her in disgust, looking at her as if she were a disease. Looking hurt, Hermione dropped it.

"I wouldn't hang around with her lot if I were you," Malfoy sniffed. "There are much better people than those tainted by muggles."

"She's my friend," Neville said.

Harry decided now was a good time to step in. "You hear that, Malfoy?" he said, standing in front of Hermione in case Malfoy got any ideas. "Neville's just met you and he already knows better."

"Always sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong, aren't you Potter?" Malfoy sneered.

"At least I don't run crying to my daddy when I get a scratch!"

"It hurt and -" Malfoy cut himself off and turned to Neville, choosing to ignore Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Longbottom," he said. "I can show you, if you want. Blood-traitors like the Potters -"

"Say that again!" Harry clenched his hands into fists. He hated it when Malfoy started in on his family.

Neville shook his head. "If you wanted to become my friend, it would've been better if you hadn't insulted my _other _friends first." Harry grinned triumphantly at Malfoy. The blond boy's cheeks went pink with embarrassment.

"You'll regret that Longbottom -"

"Just _what _is going on here?" Malfoy spun around and, seeing McGonagall's furious face, made a hasty retreat. Harry watched him go smugly, knowing he'd won. More than that, _Neville Longbottom_ had called him his friend. He was friends with the Boy-Who-Lived! "Trouble before you're even sorted," he looked back at McGonagall who was frowning at him. "Though seeing you at the centre, Mr Potter, is not a surprise."

Harry gaped, "Me? But Malfoy started it! I -"

"I will not hear excuses. This school does not tolerate fighting, so I suggest you sort out your differences sooner rather than later," she turned to the rest of the year, ignoring Harry's splutters. "Before you can enjoy our feast, you must be sorted into your houses. This is a very important ceremony; your house becomes your family; you will have classes together, eat together and share a common room and dormitory. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each house has something to be proud of and each has produced their own outstanding wizards. Does anyone have any questions?"

No one did. With a nod, McGonagall gestured for them to follow and the doors opened, revealing four long tables in a vast hall and all eyes on them. The other students were already sat on four long tables. McGonagall walked forwards and Harry's legs had to work on auto-pilot, because he and everyone else were distracted by the ceiling.

"Look! There's no roof!" Ron said somewhere behind him.

"I read about this in _Hog__warts: A History._ It's been enchanted." Hermione said.

Harry just stared up at the night sky and all the stars that twinkled down on them. They reached the front of the hall and watched as McGonagall moved to stand beside an old hat. He realised there was an expectant silence. Something was going to happen... and something did.

"_Oh you may not think me pretty, but don't judge on what you see. I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me._"

Harry gawked at the singing hat. What was going on?! Why hadn't his parents mentioned that there was a hat which sung? Why did none of the students or teachers act like something was wrong here?

"Since when does a hat sing?" Harry mumbled.

"Shh!" Hermione said.

"_... their daring, nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart. You might belong in Hufflepuff where they are just and loyal. Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafr__aid of toil._" Harry couldn't believe he was listening to a hat sing about the different houses. Maybe this was just to keep them busy until the real test could be sprung in surprise? He searched the room but saw no indication of where it might come from. Everyone started clapping and he jumped. The hat had finished singing, good. It had been weird.

Next thing he knew, his socks would be telling him to stop leaving them lying around his room.

"When I call your name you will step up and sit on this stool. The Sorting Hat will choose which house you belong in."

Oh. It really was the real thing. His dad had lied - there was no troll. He and Sirius had probably been having a right laugh all day knowing that, too. He would definitely not forget this in a hurry.

Hannah went first. He gave her a thumbs up, causing her to smile as the hat was placed on her head. In a few moments, it shouted, "Hufflepuff!" and McGonagall lifted the hat off. Hannah went with a smile to the cheering table on their right. The next girl was a Hufflepuff as well, and then Ravenclaw got its first student.

Harry looked between the two houses, but other than the design on their robes there didn't look to be much difference between them at all. Well, except maybe more Ravenclaw students wore glasses. Another girl went to Ravenclaw, and then a pink-faced girl was the first Gryffindor. The table on the far left, covered in scarlet and gold, cheered loudly. They looked really happy, all of them, and Harry couldn't wait until he was finally sitting with them.

'Millicent Bulstrode' became the first Slytherin. The people she sat with didn't look very nice, pointy noses and narrowed eyes, hard and judging where Gryffindor was exuberant. In fact, none of the people on the table looked very nice. One boy went to Hufflepuff, then another to Gryffindor. Harry was beginning to notice the hat spent more time on some students than others. Some barely needed to touch the hat, whereas others spent a few minutes with it on their head.

"Hermione Granger!" Harry paid attention to this one. He gave her a squeeze on her arm as she passed him by, and was surprised to see that she didn't look nervous as she put the hat on. She looked almost eager, in fact.

"Gryffindor!" Harry grinned. He was glad she was going to the best house, even though she was a bit of wet blanket. Obviously the hat saw more than just the surface... and at that thought, Harry felt his stomach drop. His family had said he was a shoe-in for Gryffindor, but what if he wasn't? What if the hat saw something that Harry himself didn't know, and decided he wasn't worthy of being Gryffindor? Or what if it sent him home? He'd never ever live down the embarrassment...

"Neville Longbottom!"

"What?"

"The Boy-Who-Lived?"

Neville looked really scared as he sat on the stool and the whispers stopped. Harry was starting to feel it too. His turn was coming soon and he wasn't able to spare much thought beyond the fervent wish he make Gryffindor and all this panicking be for nothing. Neville was on the stool for awhile and, close as he was, Harry thought it looked like Neville was arguing. He must have won though because he relaxed and a second later, the hat shouted,

"Gryffindor!"

The loudest cheer yet went through the hall, everyone from Gryffindor getting to their feet and waving madly. Neville half-ran to the table, only to have to run back and give McGonagall the hat. Harry grinned. People stopped him along the way, trying to shake his hand, congratulate him, and it went on for several minutes before Neville sat next to Hermione and McGonagall brought the noise back down. Ernie went up next, joining Hannah in Hufflepuff, and Harry felt a fleeting amusement at his horror._ So much for him getting Slytherin_.

Malfoy got called and Harry didn't even get time to look because as soon as the hat went on his head it sent him to Slytherin. The arrogant boy swaggered off to go and sit with his two cronies, and it was good riddance too. He really didn't want to be a Slytherin now.

There weren't that many people left then. The 'N's went by quickly, Theodore going to Slytherin, and there wasn't anybody with an 'O' for a surname. Then the 'P's came, and Harry swallowed as 'Parkinson' and 'Patil' (they were the two twins from before, one in Gryffindor and one in Ravenclaw) went before him. And then, finally, it was his turn.

"Harry Potter!"

As Harry stepped forward, the hall broke into whispers again. He could hear whispers of Gryffindor echo through the hall and realised Neville had been very brave, for having all those whispers about you was very off-putting. He picked up the hat, placed it on his head and then silently pleaded for the lions.

_Ah, another Potter here on my stool. You greatly desire Gryffindor and, I admit, you'd do well there - but do you want it for yourself or because it's what your parents want?_ Harry's eyes widened. _You may __adhere to chivalry and have courage in spades, but they're not what you value the most. __You __were raised to place your loved ones above all else, your werewolf uncle has taught you to keep an open-mind and add your determination to garner loyal friends like your father's - why, the answer is simple.  
_

Harry gripped the stool. He had to go to Gryffindor. There was no other option.

_I assure you, things will not be as bad as you assume. Perhaps you will help to prove they are not the timid pushovers people think they are.  
_

This couldn't be happening.

_I'm afraid it is. You'll be right at home in –_

"Hufflepuff!"

The hat was removed from his head and Harry was treated to seeing the entire hall gaping at him in shock. There was a loud snort from the teacher's table, breaking the silence, and Harry turned to see a greasy-haired professor clap a hand over his mouth and nose, shoulders shaking in suppressed mirth. Harry's cheeks warmed - _even the teachers are laughing at me! _- and he hurried off the seat towards the Hufflepuff table, not capable of meeting anyone's eyes. It was as he sat down the Hufflepuffs started cheering, recovering from their surprise, but Harry ignored it all.

His family would be disappointed, his dad and Sirius embarrassed - they'd ask how could the brave, noble, reckless James Potter raise a Hufflepuff?

He saw Ernie sitting opposite him, looking as miserable as he felt. The sorting continued but he didn't really pay attention to it, even missing the scared looks given to the professors' table like it was a sign the world was ending, until he heard Ron's name. He lifted his gaze from the table to see the red-head put on the hat. A moment later, he too shot off to Gryffindor with a relieved sigh. His brothers swarmed him, cheering and patting him on the back, and Harry's stomach churned. He doubted his family would be happy to hear this.

The hat had said he'd be a good Gryffindor. Why couldn't he go there?

The last student was sorted into Slytherin and then Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll, picked up the hat and stool and left the room.

"Welcome!" Albus Dumbledore said, getting to his feet. He opened his arms wide, beaming at all the students. "Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast, I'd like to say a few words: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" he sat back down again. Harry remembered how his parents always said Dumbledore was one of the best and most important people in the world, and wondered if they'd just forgotten to tell him Dumbledore was mad. The empty plates on the tables all filled up with food but Harry didn't feel very hungry.

"Maybe Hufflepuff won't be as bad as you think?" Hannah tried, looking between him and Ernie.

"I should be in Slytherin," Ernie moped. "Instead I'm in the house of duffers."

"Ouch. At least give us a chance before you write us off, will you?" the boy next to him said, though he didn't sound surprised. He looked a few years older than them. The thump of Ernie's forehead hitting the table was his only reply. Hannah and the older boy winced, but Harry felt like Ernie had the right idea.

"I'm sorry, he just really wanted Slytherin," Hannah explained.

"I can see," the older boy said. "Cedric Diggory, third year. Did you want Gryffindor?" he asked Harry this.

Harry nodded, resting his elbows on the table and leaning his head on his hands. "I don't get it," Harry said, staring down at his empty plate. "Everyone was a Gryffindor, dad, mum, Sirius and Uncle Remus, and loads of other Potters too, so wouldn't that mean I'd be like them?"

"I don't think there's that much difference between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor," Hannah said quietly.

"Except Hufflepuff is for those who don't belong anywhere else, while Gryffindors are loud and proud," Ernie muttered. Harry felt a bit bad after seeing the hurt look on Hannah's face, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything in defence. He was thinking it, after all. His parents would probably think it. His stomach twisted and he felt sick. His family… what were they doing right now? Had they already eaten? Were they all round the table, Sirius and his dad cracking jokes? His mum forcing Peter to eat veggies? Did they miss him?

Were they unaware of how his whole world had just tipped sideways?

An awkward silence descended on their area of the table, strong despite the loud Great Hall around them. There were screams from the Gryffindor table and, looking over, Harry saw a ghost in the middle with his head hanging off.

"Ah, and here are some of our newest Hufflepuffs!" a cheerful voice broke through the gloom and, a moment later, a fat ghost settled next to Ernie who blanched and inched away. The ghost looked around. "Oh dear, none of you look very happy."

"They didn't get the houses they wanted," Cedric explained. "This is the Fat Friar. He's our house ghost."

"Ah, I understand," the Far Friar smiled. "It may comfort you to know you are not the first to think so, nor will you be the last. In fact, many of your house mates once felt the same way you did. Even Cedric here was reluctant at first, though you'd never know it now," he added. "You're thinking of how you've never heard any Hufflepuff do anything famous, right? That even Slytherin would be better because at least it's respectable to be one?"

"No way!" Harry bolted upright. "I'll take Hufflepuff over Slytherin any day!"

"I am," Ernie said. "I'm going to be the laughing stock of my family now."

"So for you, the situation is not all bleak," the ghost said to Harry. He was right. Harry might not have been a Gryffindor but at least he wasn't a Slytherin. His family really would hate him then, maybe even disown him! But Hufflepuff wasn't for evil people, just those who weren't brave or cunning or smart enough for the others.

"It still sucks though," he muttered. The friar tried to cheer Ernie up next, but the boy just ignored him. Looking between the Fat Friar and Cedric, Harry couldn't believe they weren't shouting at him or Ernie. They didn't even seem surprised - though if the ghost was telling the truth, he had probably done this loads of times. It made Harry feel even worse. If they had been mean, he would have felt justified in his comments but they hadn't done anything except listen.

"At least try to eat something," Hannah said, putting some shepherd's pie on his plate. "Otherwise you'll be hungry later."

Knowing she was right, Harry attempted to do so – though it was not easy. It felt like forever before all the food disappeared and Dumbledore stood up.

"Now that we are all fed, I have a few notices to give out. The first years should note that the Forbidden Forest is, in fact, forbidden to all students, and a few of our older students would do well to remember that too," his gaze lingered on the Gryffindor table. "Our caretaker, Mr Filch, would like me to remind you that the list of forbidden items is up on his office door, should you wish to read it."

He paused and then looked around at the entire room. "Finally, I must tell you that the third floor corridor is off limits to all those who do not wish to die a painful death." There were a few laughs around the room, but they were few and far between. Sensing it might be more serious than he thought, Harry looked to Cedric.

"Is he serious?"

Cedric was frowning at Dumbledore. "Must be," he said, before standing up with the rest of the school, leaving the first years to stare bewildered at everyone else. What were they meant to do? Cedric pointed to where two older students were ushering the other first year Hufflepuffs together. "Those two are prefects, they'll help you find your way. Hogwarts is a pretty big place and you're going to get lost at some point, but if you need help just ask. I'll see you in the common room later."

With that, he disappeared with his friends, leaving the three first years to join the rest of their group. There weren't many, two girls and four guys, but Harry didn't try to speak to them just yet. He looked longingly at the Gryffindors, catching the back of Neville as he disappeared, before following the group. Hannah seemed to get along quite well with the other girl, Susan, chatting cheerfully as they followed the two older students.

"Our common room isn't far," the male prefect, Bernie Cadwaller, said as he led them into the basement. "You don't have to worry about remembering a password either." They passed a still-life painting of fruit and stopped in front of a stack of large barrels hidden in the far right corner. "The barrel you want is two up, four across. Tap it like you would say 'Helga Hufflepuff'," and then he demonstrated with his wand. "Beware, if you tap it wrong enough times – well, let's just say it's unpleasant," he grinned.

The lid of the barrel swung open to reveal a dimly lit passageway. "Who here likes crawling?" the female prefect, Lucy Perks, asked with a grin. Harry exchanged a confused look with the others before watching as she bent over and crawled through. Bernie gestured for them to follow.

A few moments later, they emerged into the Hufflepuff common room.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff!" The six were shocked to see the rest of the house had been waiting for them. There was a lot of cheering and laughing and then the students were gesturing at what the first years should look at first.

Harry gazed around in awe. The most notable thing was how round it was – round walls, round doors, round windows, round ceiling – and then there was the plants, hanging from the ceiling and draped around the windows. The room smelt of freshly cut grass and, although Harry knew it was late evening, the room felt like it was bathed in sunlight.

He caught sight of Cedric, standing with his friends. The older boy waved with a smile and, for the first time, Harry began to feel a little better about Hufflepuff. It might be black and yellow instead of red and gold, but the room was cosy and warm. He gave a small wave back before letting Hannah drag him over to the windows, which showed a field of daisies despite them being down in the basements, and laughed when the cacti on the windowsill waved at him. He was soon led through the round doors into the dormitories and found the four beds in Harry's dorm lit with a soft brown hue from the lamp, each covered in a patchwork quilt.

Really, it was a very silly thought to have as he settled in his plump bed and listened to the other boys settle down, but he couldn't quite help but think that maybe being a Hufflepuff wouldn't mean the end of the world. He could grow to like it here.

Actually, if he were honest, and he didn't want to admit it but couldn't stop thinking, that it felt like coming home.


	4. Hexes and Broomsticks

Thanks for the reviews, favs and alerts! If you want to know why Harry is a 'Puff, check out my profile. The next update will be on: 05/09/12

**The Troubles of Neville**

* * *

_Previously:_

_Really, it was a very silly thought to have as he settled in his plump bed and listened to the other boys settle down, but he couldn't quite help but think that maybe being a Hufflepuff wouldn't mean the end of the world. He could grow to like it here._

_Actually, if he were honest, and he didn't want to admit it but couldn't stop thinking, that it felt like coming home._

* * *

Hogwarts was wicked cool, but took a lot more thought and effort than he'd ever imagined.

There were trick steps on the staircases which caught your foot and the only way to get free was to have someone help you. If you got stuck on your way to class, like Hannah had, you could be there awhile. There were walls pretending to be doors, as Harry found and had to go to the Hospital Wing for a bloody nose, or doors that disappeared at certain times – leaving Justin Finch-Fletchley (another Hufflepuff first year) stuck in a classroom on the sixth floor until it came back hours later.

Asking the portraits and ghosts for help was useless. The portraits were often out visiting others, when they weren't annoyed about being disturbed, and while the Fat Friar always sent Hufflepuffs the right way the others just ignored them. Peeves the poltergeist was the worst, guaranteed to lead you to your doom if you asked him for advice.

The caretaker, Filch, had a pet cat called Mrs Norris. While he was nasty on his own, with his cat he was a nightmare – it was Mrs Norris who thwarted many attempts by mischief-makers with her keen senses. Neville and Hermione had got on his bad side their very first day, as Neville later told Harry while Hermione tried not to cry, by trying to enter a locked door which turned out to be the third-floor corridor. Only a timely intervention by an older Prefect saved them from trouble.

And then there were classes.

Every Thursday night they had Astronomy with the Ravenclaws. Professor Vector told them a lot of facts Harry didn't really care about, except when she'd pointed out the Dog Star and said the Black and other pureblood families liked to name their children after constellations. They had to spend at least half an hour in the dark to let their eyes adjust and if they absolutely _had _to go into the light they were to keep one eye covered so they could still see when they came back.

Sirius had been right about McGonagall. She spent half the class telling them what they could do with transfiguration, even turning her desk into a pig, before giving them a match and telling them to turn it into a needle. No one managed it except Malfoy, who shot smug looks at Harry the rest of the day. McGonagall said after class she was sorry he wasn't a Gryffindor but she was looking forwards to seeing if he was as good as his dad at the subject.

Neither made him feel happier.

History of Magic was easily the most boring even if it was taught by a ghost. Binns didn't talk about anything but goblin wars and, in-between playing hangman with Justin, he and Malfoy kept throwing scrunched up bits of parchment at each other. By the end of class only the other Hufflepuff girl Susan Bones had something of worth, but she wouldn't share and instead told them to go to the library if they really cared (incidentally, no one did).

It was in the library Harry got to see Neville again. He and Hermione were there each evening so Harry usually sat with them. Sometimes the other Hufflepuffs joined them, but when they didn't Harry secretly pretended he was a Gryffindor.

It turned out the only classes he shared with Neville were Defence and Herbology. Defence was a joke. Quirrel stuttered and oohed and ummed, never really telling them anything cool, and his classroom smelt like garlic as he apparently feared the return of a vampire he'd met a few years ago. Harry's copy of _Curses and Counter Curses_ was a better teacher and he very cheerfully wrote that in part of his letter to his mum, though he didn't say he'd used the Jelly-Legs Curse on Malfoy (even though it had been really funny to see him fall flat on his face).

The letter didn't get sent, though, because it also had news of his house and he kept finding ways to put it off.

Herbology was taught by Professor Sprout, their head of house. Neville seemed to like the subject but Harry had to fight the urge to yawn. They wouldn't see any interesting plants, like the Venus Fly-Trap, until their fifth year so all they did was prod a plant – though flicking small dirt clumps at Zacharias Smith's back (the final boy in their dorm who always said he was good at something even when he wasn't) was fun. Sprout kept him and Ernie behind, as apparently someone had said they weren't happy, and arranged a 'cosy fireside natter' in her office at the end of the week.

Charms was Harry's favourite class. Professor Flitwick was a dwarf who needed a pile of books to see them all, but he was very happy to help any student and always seemed to be smiling. He spent a lot the lesson chatting to Harry about his mum, who he owled a lot to consult with important matters, and said he would be very eager to help him follow his mum's footsteps, but mainly Harry liked him because he didn't say anything about his house.

The very worst lesson, so horrible and life-threatening Harry would skip if he didn't fear what would come after, was Potions.

Professor Snape was the teacher who'd snorted when Harry was sorted into Hufflepuff and, from Harry's first step in the classroom, took great delight in asking how his father felt about his house, how disappointing it must be to find his son wasn't good enough for Gryffindor, how embarrassing it must be to have a son who couldn't follow in his footsteps – oh, but Harry shouldn't feel guilty, it was hardly_ his_ fault how he'd been raised. Harry hated it, and him, and his house mates were encouraging him to tell Sprout how unfair Snape was. Considering he'd lost house points 'for breathing too loud' Harry was starting to agree.

That they didn't have Potions until Tuesday was primarily the reason why the Hufflepuff first years were so cheerful on Friday morning. Personally, Harry was more excited because they had their first flying lesson.

"I love flying," Harry said as he stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth. "Dad says I'm a natural. 'Course, Quidditch just makes flying more fun. Once I flew all the way from one side of town to the other and back again."

"That was stupid," Susan said. "What if muggles had seen you?"

"Muggles don't see nothing, do they?" Harry shrugged. "But if they had mum would've, you know," he waggled his fingers, "course, got my broom taken away for three months," he added with a sigh. That had been the worst time in his entire life.

"Good!"

"That's nothing," Zacharias broke in. "I've flown with a professional Quidditch team." He lifted his head a little higher at their disbelieving looks. "They said I was brilliant." Harry couldn't believe it. He'd been to see loads of professional matches but there had never been a chance to fly with a team – they were usually too busy training.

"Who?" Ernie demanded.

"The Falcons."

"Falmouth Falcons? Rubbish!" Harry exclaimed. "They haven't ever done a session like that. Dad would have got on otherwise!"

"Well they did for me," Zacharias said smugly. "Having an auror for a dad's not so cool now, is it?" Harry glared at him.

"Is flying hard?" Justin asked. As he was the only muggle-born in their group, the others often forgot he didn't know anything about the Wizarding World. "I thought you didn't have aeroplanes?"

"Airwhat?" Ernie repeated.

"We fly on brooms," Harry explained.

Justin laughed. When he realised no one else was, he stared. "For real?"

"Yeah, there are loads of types. The Nimbus 2000 only came out this summer – Sirius got me one for my birthday," Harry bragged and was delighted to see Zacharias' smug smile fade. "There are all sorts of brooms, some better than others depending on what position you play. The one I have -"

"Position?" Justin said.

"For Quidditch," Ernie interjected.

"- the one I have is a racing broom," Harry continued, ignoring them, "around second-tier. It's best for seekers 'cause they need to be fast to catch the snitch. If there's a Shooting Star here you should fly on that – it's the best for learners as it's not very fast. There's also Comets. Best for beaters or keepers as they're able to take more hits," he paused. "The Cleansweeps are good for chasers. They're quick to turn. Cleansweep Seven's the best of them – came out this year too."

"Dad promised me one of them for my birthday," Zacharias cut in.

"But I have a Nimbus right now," Harry reminded gleefully.

"Harry, will you help me if I get stuck?" Hannah asked. "I've only flown once or twice."

"Me too? It sounds like you know loads about it," Justin added.

"Sure," Harry grinned. He could talk about Quidditch – and flying – forever.

"Great," Ernie muttered. "Two show-offs."

The arrival of the owl post stopped any further conversation. Most of the owls in the hall had a rolled up newspaper attached to their legs – Zacharias, Ernie, Susan and Harry all got one of these, but when the family owl Brave Marmaduke the Third landed on his cereal bowl with a letter he felt his stomach drop.

"Oh no," he moaned, newspaper forgotten.

"Is that from your family?" Ernie asked. "I thought you hadn't owled them." He looked worried, as if Harry had gone back on their agreement to send letters off at the same time.

"I didn't!" he said worried. "Do you think they've heard?" he reached out to Marmaduke only to pull back when it nipped his fingers. "Ow! Jeez, I already know I'm in trouble, stupid bird," he grumbled and took the letter. Marmaduke took off, spilling the milk in his bowl on the table and catching the bottom of his wings on Harry's head. Deliberately, Harry knew, though he'd never be able to prove it. He stared at the letter addressed in his mum's loopy writing, the simple _Harry _in emerald ink filling him with dread. "Think they're mad?"

"Of course they're mad! But I bet they're madder they didn't hear it from you," Susan said. "I told you you should have owled them already!"

"It might not be as bad as you think," Hannah encouraged.

"I'll open it later," he decided, shoving it in his pocket.

"So stupid," Susan shook her head.

But in the end Harry didn't open it after classes.

In their last lesson he sat with Neville, who said Hagrid had owled him that morning, inviting him over, and said he could bring his friends so would Harry like to join him and Hermione? Of course Harry said yes, even though he hadn't given the giant a single thought since the boat journey, because who turned down an invitation from the Boy-Who-Lived? He was so happy he'd been asked that he didn't even wonder why Neville hadn't invited any of the other Gryffindors (Ron, an Irish person and a black guy, who sat together in classes and didn't pay much attention plus two girls - one who'd fallen in the lake on the way in - who always seemed to be talking about girly stuff).

Nearly a week on, Harry understood what Hagrid had meant before as all the teachers were saying the same thing - apparently they thought he would cause trouble and even expected him to because he grew up with the Marauders. Harry, who liked pranks as much as the next kid but didn't really do them, found it both annoying and funny as he hadn't done anything (except to Malfoy but he didn't count) or planned to but the teachers were growing more and more paranoid.

"You had flying this morning, right?" Hermione asked as they made their way to Hagrid's hut. She was hugging her Herbology text book to her chest.

"I hope it went better than ours," Neville said. In their flying lesson, Malfoy had 'accidentally' bumped into Neville when they were in the air. Neville had fallen and got a broken wrist.

"Yeah, it did," Harry grinned. "Hooch was really impressed. After a bit she had me help everyone else, but loads of the Ravenclaws didn't seem to like being told they were wrong. I wish I'd been on my Nimbus though. The Cleansweeps were fine, but once you get used to that..." he shook his head. "Zacharias said he was a good flier but it was obvious that I was better. He made up a story about flying with the Falcons earlier but I know he was lying as I've followed all the teams and there hasn't ever been a chance to, and Dad and Sirius would have heard about it too -"

"Oh look, we're here!" Hermione exclaimed in relief, hurrying up Hagrid's front steps and knocking the door.

"That was quick," Harry blinked.

"You were talking an awful lot," Neville reminded.

There was a frantic scrabbling from behind the door, before Hagrid shouted, "Back Fang back!" and then opened it. "Wondered when yeh'd get here," he said. He ushered them inside while keeping a tight grip on the enormous boar-hound at his side. Harry looked around the hut. It was only one room, round just like in the common room, but it was bigger on the inside than outside. Hermione was surprised, but Harry had seen the tents aurors took in the field and knew it was just a bunch of charms.

"Make yerselves at home," Hagrid said as he put the kettle on. He let go of Fang who bounded over to Neville and licked his hands, getting slobber all over him. "I know young Harry, but who are yeh then?" he turned to Hermione, ignoring the small scuffle as Neville tried to stop Fang from slobbering him to death.

Harry was getting annoyed everyone said they knew him when what they meant was they knew his parents.

"Hermione Granger," she said as she sat in one of his chairs. Harry sat next to her and Neville practically threw himself in the final chair. His fingers were dripping and with a disgusted look he wiped them on his trousers.

"Hermione's a muggleborn," Harry said.

"But she knows more than most purebloods," Neville added, giving Hermione a smile. Harry was surprised, then told himself he shouldn't be as in both Herbology and Defence she was always the first to answer a question.

"That so? Good on yeh!" Hagrid said as he put a pot of tea on the table, followed by a plate of cakes much to Harry's delight. "Yeh'll find a lo' of that as yeh go through the Wizarding World." Harry picked up a cake and took a bite - or tried to. His teeth didn't sink in and he let out a small cry as pain exploded at the top of his mouth. "Harry? Oh! Yeh tried a cake!" he beamed.

Harry had a hand covering his mouth, eyes watering, as the pain dulled to a throbbing, and muttered, "I wish I hadn't."

"I made them," Hagrid continued over him, "Yer dad always liked 'em, Neville, so I though' I'd make 'em for yeh. Now don't be shy," he nudged the tray closer to Neville. The Boy-Who-Lived shot a wide-eyed look at Harry who frantically shook his head, willing him not to eat them. They were rock hard, like stone. He stuck his cake in his pocket, while Hagrid's attention wasn't on him, and when Hagrid looked back forced a smile and rubbed his belly.

"Mm, yum," he said.

"A-actually..." Neville said weakly, eyes darting back and forth as he searched for an excuse.

"We'll save them for later," Hermione broke in, slightly higher-pitched than normal. "We don't want to ruin dinner, isn't that right Neville?" He nodded and they took two each and stuffed them in their pockets.

"Lemme know wha' yeh think," Hagrid said. "I can send some to yer dad, if he wants. Speaking of, how'd yer parents take Hufflepuff Harry? Bi' of a shock, lemme tell yeh, but it don't mean yer any less for it. Hufflepuffs have every much t'be proud of as Gryffindors," Hagrid nodded. It was the first time someone had said him being a Hufflepuff wasn't disappointing, that it didn't say anything bad about Harry himself, but he was once again reminded of how awkward his week had been as everyone struggled to get used to a Hufflepuff Potter.

"That's not what everyone else says," Harry tried to sink into the chair.

"Poppycock! Who's been sayin' stuff?"

"Everyone," he moped. "Snape doesn't leave it alone. It's always 'Oh Potter, I see you weren't brave enough to help out your friend with her potion' or 'I thought you were supposed to be hardworking; obviously you're good at failing expectations' or 'I can't imagine what your mother must be thinking' -"

Hagrid frowned. "Don' yeh dare listen to Snape Harry, he hated yer father. I bet yer other teachers -"

"No!" Harry said. "McGonagall said she was disappointed I wasn't in her house and everyone else keeps talking about how surprised they are and I know they're surprised, do they think I wasn't? But I can't change it and Hufflepuff seems really nice and the common room is really comfy but everyone laughs at me as they think I'm stupid or dull or a pushover even though I always stand up to Malfoy when he starts in!" There was a long pause. Harry was panting, not having taken a breath while talking, and then Hagrid slid a full cup of tea over to him. "Thank you," he muttered.

With a pat on his shoulder that felt more like a punch, Hagrid said, "Don't yeh worry lad, a few weeks an' everyone will forget about it - yeh'll see."

"Hagrid, you said you knew my dad, did you know my mum too?" Neville asked. Harry gave him a grateful smile.

"Course, though no' as well as I woulda liked."

"What was she like?" Neville leant forward eagerly.

"Didn't yer dad tell yeh?" Hagrid looked confused.

"Well, he doesn't like to talk about her much," Neville looked down and played with the cuff on his robes. "Gran told me some stuff but she said she wasn't the best person as she didn't know her for very long. Dad's often busy with work too so when he comes back..." he shrugged.

Harry was surprised. What kind of work did Unspeakables have to do that kept them busy like aurors? It wasn't like they were facing bad guys.

"Er, well, yer mother..." Hagrid stroked his black bushy beard, "Bi' clumsy, I remember, and clever - average grades, but she knew things - had more sense than a lo' of people her age. Actually, I think she was good friends with Lily," he glanced at Harry.

"Mum?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Alice was a year or two older, bu' they spent a lot of time together," Hagrid smiled. "I bet if things'd been different, you two mighta grown up good friends as well." Harry grinned at Neville, who gave him a shy smile back. "Now how 'bout some more tea?"

However, their parents were not the topic as they left Hagrid's hut about an hour later, heading inside for dinner. Hermione wanted answers about an article she'd spotted on the table - a break-in at Gringotts over the summer.

"All the books I read said Gringotts couldn't be broken into," she said confused.

"It can't," Harry replied automatically.

"But it was?"

"... Normally," he added with reluctance. "There's loads of spells and stuff meant to stop you - Uncle Remus said there's even dragons down there, ready to gobble you up if you take even one wrong step."

"I - there are really dragons there?" Hermione was pale.

"Only for the really old vaults, down deep below," Neville reassured her. "You wouldn't normally see them."

"I bet you heard a roar though," Harry said. "They say the dragon's never far behind the roar. Imagine how close you were to being a lunchtime snack."

"W-well..."

"Stop scaring her!" Neville demanded. It was the first time Neville had snapped at Harry, but it only made Harry grin wider. He put his hands up in surrender, though, so Neville continued, "The dragons are all tied up. They can't hurt anyone."

"Did the person get caught?" she asked.

Harry could answer this. "Nope. No one has any idea who, but Dad and Sirius said it had to be a really powerful and smart wizard because they broke through some wards without detection until it was too late. They've been on it all summer." More importantly, it was the reason they'd missed another birthday of his. He'd got a Nimbus 2000 out of it though, so he'd let it go. "Vault 713..."

"Vault 713 was the one broken into?" Neville gasped.

"It was in the paper," Harry said. Everyone knew it.

"We don't get it, but that's - it's the vault Hagrid and I went to, the day after my birthday."

"What day?" Harry asked. Maybe Neville knew what the guy had been after and he could tell his dad, and give them a breakthrough in the case. It would be so cool if he helped solve it!

"31 July," Neville said.

"That's the day it got broken into!" Harry exclaimed. It was almost certainly what the thief had been looking for. "What did you get?"

"I don't know," Neville bit his lip. "It was small, about this size," he made a fist, "and it was in a brown wrapper. Hagrid said he was getting it for Professor Dumbledore."

"So you didn't see what it was?" he said, disappointed. Neville shook his head. "What else was there?"

"In the vault? Nothing."

"I'll tell my dad," he said. Maybe having some news about the case would help make them happier to hear he wasn't a Gryffindor. In a flash, he remembered that he'd gotten a letter from home earlier than day. "Oh."

"What?"

He fished it out of his bag, now quite crumpled but still legible and showed it to them. "Mum owled me today."

"What did she say?" Neville asked, eyes wide.

"Dunno, didn't read it," Harry said.

"Oh honestly," Hermione huffed. "This has gone on long enough!" she snatched the letter out his hand and opened it despite their protests. A quick skim had her rolling her eyes and shoving it in Harry's face. "Look, there's nothing to worry about at all. She didn't even mention it!"

"What!?" Harry and Neville peered over the letter.

_Hi sweetheart,_

_One would think you were avoiding owling us, but I know better – you're having such a blast you just forgot, right? Of course, there's only so long I can convince your father and Sirius of that before they start to take action. I'd send us a reply soon otherwise you could find yourself in a bit of a pickle. Everyone misses you terribly, especially Peter. I hope you're keeping out of trouble and not, as your father believes, just not being caught._

_Lots of love,  
Mum_

"Oh," Harry said weakly. It hadn't exactly been a weight on his mind, but seeing the reassurance made him feel a whole lot better - even if they didn't already know his house (and there was no way they couldn't, not now nearly a week had passed). "I guess I'll send that letter then."

"Finally," Hermione sighed.

Neville smiled. "I'm glad they're not angry."

"Me too," Harry beamed.

They reached the Entrance Hall, where people were starting to head to dinner. Deciding to owl his family then, before he lost his nerve, he bid Neville and Hermione goodbye before heading back to Hufflepuff Common Room.

Having to crawl through the entrance was still a lot of fun, especially as there was always enough space no matter how many people were going in and out, and there were lots of pillows on the ground to catch you when you came out. He was less happy about how many plants were in the common room, but he could put up with it because the chairs were as plump as they looked and the sofas big enough you could fit loads of people on and still be comfy.

He bumped into his year mates there.

"You're not coming to dinner?" Ernie asked.

"I'm gonna send that letter first," Harry explained. No one was too fussed about missing meals because they were three minutes away from the kitchens. It made midnight snacks a lot easier and probably explained why a few older students were a bit chubby in the face. He waved the others goodbye and then made the long walk to their dorm room.

The older you were the closer you were to the exit, making it easy for students with a longer curfew to come and go without waking the younger years and adding protection in case anything happened. Being first years meant they were at the far end of the tunnel.

With only four boys there was a lot of room to spare, but somehow they'd still adapted and it was hard to find a visible bit of floor. He stepped over some crumpled clothes and crouched in front of his trunk. It was already open, had been since the first morning when Harry had pulled out all the books and flung his clothes back in. He pushed it open the rest of the way and starting hunting for the letter. It should be near the top as he'd only had it yesterday.

He found it on top of something strange. It was with the other cloaks, but looked and felt nothing like them. Instead of the rough texture it was more silken and as he held it up in front of him with a bemused expression, he realised it shimmered a lot like water did.

_Probably something mum threw in, _he sighed and dumped it on the bed, along with the letter, before shoving back all the stuff he'd taken out. He then turned to his bed and froze.

The letter had gone!

Baffled, he fell to his knees and searched under the bed but it hadn't fallen. He spent the next few minutes feeling around, hunting in all the possible areas, and then concluded they must've slipped back into his trunk. He let out a huge sigh and flopped back on the bed, only to blink as he heard the sound of rustling parchment.

He rolled onto his front and stared. Where before there had been nothing now sat half a piece of parchment. It led under a cover and, hesitantly, Harry reached out and lifted it up. To his amazement, there was the rest of the letter. It had been there all along, invisible... _thanks to this cloak... _

Harry frowned and got to his feet. He slung it around his shoulders and clasped it together at the front. His entire body disappeared. _It's an Invisibility Cloak! _He thought, stunned. He scrambled over to the window, the nearest place to get a reflection, and found it odd to see only his head. He felt back, found a hood and pulled it over himself – completely shrouding himself from view.

He spent a few minutes playing around, making one limb appear at a time, before wondering what would happen if he wore it on the way to the Owlery. He grinned and shoved his letter in his pocket, before heading out the room.

There was a bit of a problem with the common room tunnel, but he sneaked out as some other Hufflepuffs left and then started making his invisible way. Getting past the Great Hall was the hardest part because there were a lot of students around, but after a lot of jumping and sucking in his tummy he made it to the staircase. It was then he realised Malfoy was coming down the stairs.

Well, he'd wanted to try out the Stickfast Hex for awhile.

"Colloshoo!" he whispered, waving his wand like the book said. Nothing happened. Malfoy was almost halfway down the stairs now and frantically he tried again, "Colloshoo!" he heard a squelch sound and saw a type of grey glue had appeared on the bottom of Malfoy's shoes.

Mid-step, Malfoy flailed as he was unable to lift his other leg and would have fallen if one of his goons hadn't steadied him. "What?" he snapped at the people staring, before trying to move again. His eyes widened. "What's going on? Crabbe? Goyle?!" he started panicking. "I can't move my legs!"

The pug-faced girl who'd been walking with him gasped. "Your shoes!"

"What?" Malfoy looked down.

"You've been hexed!" Theodore Nott laughed as he came up behind Malfoy. "They did a good job too."

"My shoes are stuck to the floor," Malfoy said, stunned, before trying to turn and look at Theodore. "Help pull me free!"

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I've got to get to dinner. I'll save you something though," he shrugged and walked past a spluttering Malfoy with a smirk.

"You - wait till I tell my father!" he snarled, before gesturing to Crabbe and Goyle. "Well? Why are you just standing there?!"

"I'll help too!" the pug-faced girl said.

Watching Malfoy's attempts to free himself left Harry with a hand clapped over his mouth as he tried to suppress his giggles. Eventually Malfoy seemed to realise his shoes wouldn't free and, after a look around to check who was there (by now only Crabbe, Goyle and the pug-faced girl Pansy remained, everyone else eating in the Hall), hissed, "Quick, give me your shoes."

One of his goons pulled off theirs and Malfoy quickly slipped out of his and into the other's. "If you mention this to anyone," he threatened, glaring at them. The shoes were too big for Malfoy and he stumbled when he first tried walking in them. Harry snorted and then froze.

"Which of you was that!?" Malfoy demanded of his goons. They shared a look. "Well?" When neither owned up, he huffed. "I can't believe this," he grumbled and hurried away into the dungeons, probably to his common room so he could get a new pair of shoes. Pansy was left trying to make the shoes less obvious but they were stuck in the middle of the staircase – it would be really hard to hide them. Eventually she gave up and Harry was left alone.

"Brilliant," he chortled. He couldn't wait to tell the others what had happened.

With a spring in his step, he continued onto the Owlery. It was one of the many towers spiralling around Hogwarts, which meant travelling up a lot of steps. Neville said the Gryffindor Common Room was on the seventh floor and if it was true Harry would admit, if only to himself, that he was glad he didn't have to walk up all those stairs every single day. His legs were wobbly when he did get to the Owlery and he gratefully pulled off his cloak and sat down.

"Hedwig!" he called. She soared down from the rafters and settled on his arm, nipping his ear in greeting. "Yeah yeah, I got one," he said, holding a treat with his free hand. He stroked her plumage and then pulled out his letter. After scribbling what Neville had said before, he sealed it and tied it to Hedwig's leg. "Take this to mum and dad, okay?"

She hooted and launched off his arm into the night sky. Harry watched until she became a speck, then disappeared entirely. He'd love to be a bird, he decided, able to go wherever he wanted and fly all day.

"BOO!"

Harry yelled and spun around, only to trip over his robes and tumble on his back with a thud. Dazed, it took him a few seconds before he registered the sound of laughter and pushed up on his elbows to see Cedric, the boy who'd sat with them at the feast, cracking up.

"You -" Harry spluttered.

"You should see your face!" Cedric gasped, wiping at his eyes.

"S-shut it!"

"Ahaha, and your arms, they went," he flailed them above him and Harry smiled before he could stop himself. "Ooh, aha, my sides hurt," Cedric snorted, his laughter finally dying down but his grin didn't dim. He eventually held out a hand to help Harry up. "Here, let me." Harry accepted it and got up, his face still slightly red and his backside stinging but there was no chance he would rub there while Cedric could still see him. "Sorry, it was just a bit of fun."

Harry sighed. "I s'pose," he said. He was used to being laughed at, his family pranking each other a lot, and although he could see how funny it was it didn't mean he had to like it. "What are you doing here?"

Cedric gestured around them. "Take a wild guess."

"Oh..."

"Ah, I knew all that messy hair was blocking your brain," the older boy snickered. Harry felt his cheeks warm again in embarrassment and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it up in the way he liked. It didn't look that bad did it? "Hey, guess what a little badger told me today." Harry stared at him, confused, but when Cedric actually seemed to be looking for an answer he shrugged. "It told me that _you_ are a spectacular flier," Cedric continued. "'Course, you're only a first year so I bet you're not that good."

Harry scowled. "I'm brilliant at flying! Even Hooch said she hadn't seen someone like me for years!"

"Really?" Cedric asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah!"

"You sure she wasn't just being nice?"

"She wasn't!"

Cedric narrowed his eyes. "What's a double-eight loop?"

Harry took a step back, startled, but answered, "Keepers use it to defend all three goal-posts. You fly in the shape of an eight."

"Can you do the Hawkshead?"

"No," Harry frowned, "you need three chasers to do it."

"Ever done a Porskoff Ploy?"

"Why are you asking me this?!"

Cedric pulled back with a shrug. "A week today we have Quidditch try-outs. You can't join the team, not as a first year, but if you're good enough perhaps we can train you so that next year…" he trailed off. Harry gaped at him, unable to believe it. Just because second years could try out for Quidditch teams didn't mean they got on – usually only third years or older were taken on because they were much bigger.

"Are you the Hufflepuff captain then?" Harry asked.

"Naw, seeker," Cedric grinned. "Joined last year, but I'm here on his orders. When it's time, I'll collect you and take you down so make sure you're near the common room. I bet you like us Hufflepuffs a whole lot better now, right?"

"Huh?"

"Well, the other houses wouldn't let you join," Cedric said, "I mean look at you! You're not much, are you? Scrawny thing. The other houses wouldn't look past that, but we Puffs know how to find a diamond in the rough," he slung an arm over Harry's shoulders. "Come on, we should head back down. There's going to be lots of games tonight. We have them each Friday, to celebrate the weekend. You don't wanna miss them," Cedric squeezed his shoulder. "'Course we'll pick up some snacks from the kitchens first. Don't wanna go hungry right?"

"R-right..."

Harry let himself be ushered out, a little overwhelmed and still dazed from hearing he could be on the house team. But if Cedric was telling the truth and he got to play Quidditch, he definitely wouldn't mind being a Hufflepuff at all.


	5. The Third Floor Corridor

Thanks for the reviews, alerts and favourites! The next update will be on: 12/09/12

**The Troubles of Neville**

* * *

_Previously:_

_Harry let himself be ushered out, a little overwhelmed and still dazed from hearing he could be on the house team. But if Cedric was telling the truth and he got to play Quidditch, he definitely wouldn't mind being a Hufflepuff at all._

* * *

Around a month and a bit into term, Harry was finally getting used to waking up with sore muscles.

Quidditch practice was a lot harder than he thought. Not enough to put him off, but still really tough. It was a little embarrassing too because he was always the last to complete the exercises and the most tired after workouts. His very first time he'd fallen asleep on the bench in the changing rooms and one of the beaters, Wayne Hopkins, had carried him back to the common room. He didn't like to remember that but none of the Hufflepuffs would let him forget it. He had also been quite mean when it first begun, tired after each practice and snapping at a lot of people. He'd apologise afterwards but never manage to stop doing it again, but eventually he'd got used to being tired and achy all the time. It helped that he was getting better at the exercises he'd struggled to do in the beginning.

They had him covering the chaser and seeker positions – the Captain, May Summers, said he was too small to be an effective beater (even though he had been taught by Sirius, one of the best beaters ever) and he wasn't good at Keeper. He could do it but he got bored just hanging around the goals and it was a little scary as everything was up to you when the quaffle came your way and if you didn't stop it then the other team scored and everyone hated you for making their team lose.

After May spoke to Sprout, who'd gone to Dumbledore, Harry had been allowed on the reserve team. He wouldn't be first in line to play in games but if one of the chasers or Cedric was unable to play he would replace them. Seeker was his priority as there was only one seeker and if they lost him, the game was lost.

As seeker was Harry's favourite position, he didn't mind a bit.

Cedric was very good as seeker. He and Harry liked to race and although Harry won it was mainly because he was on a Nimbus 2000 while Cedric had a Cleansweep. After making Cedric promise not to ruin it, Harry had agreed to lend him his Nimbus – Cedric had nearly cried.

The rest of the first years thought he was the coolest person ever. Well, except the Slytherins. Harry got along well with Theodore but the rest always crowded Malfoy who definitely did not think Harry was the coolest person ever. In fact, he knew Harry was responsible for all the mysterious hexes and curses cast on him; only the fact he had no proof stopped Harry from getting in trouble. All those glares didn't do much, but Harry and the other Hufflepuffs kept their eyes open just in case Malfoy started something.

Harry was very pleased with his curse book and was thinking about owling Remus to see if he could send another book like it as he'd learnt most of the spells already. Remus loved Defence so Harry was hoping, by telling him how rubbish Quirrel was, that Remus would want Harry to do well and agree.

Speaking of Malfoy…

"Oy Potter," Malfoy called as they left History of Magic.

"Malfoy! Didn't see you there," Harry replied, all wide-eyed innocence as he spun on the spot. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you," Malfoy said.

"Uh huh," Harry stared at him.

"You must be relieved your parents finally have something to be proud about," the other continued. Out the corner of his eye, Harry saw the other Hufflepuff first years start to pay attention. "After you disappointed them so badly before."

"Harry's done more than can be said for you," Ernie interjected. "I bet you couldn't even hold a candle to Harry."

"I'll remind you I'm far better than him in Transfiguration," Malfoy said smugly, making Harry frown. What made it even more annoying was each time Malfoy got a spell Harry didn't McGonagall seemed to shoot Harry a disappointed look. He wasn't half as good as his dad was – actually, he was pretty average in all his classes, though he thought he'd get good marks in Defence if he actually cared about what Quirrel did. "I can take him any time."

"Alright, prove it," Harry said. "Wizard's duel, you and me."

Malfoy eyed him before nodding. "Crabbe will be my second – yours?"

Harry glanced back at the Hufflepuffs. Susan was clearly unhappy with him, Hannah was whispering to a confused Justin, Zacharias just stared back with a smug look and Ernie avoided his gaze. There wouldn't be much help from them. He turned back to Malfoy but before he could speak, someone spoke up.

"I'm his second," said Ron as he moved to stand next to Harry and crossed his arms over his chest. Behind him, Harry saw Dean and Seamus watching nervously.

"Weasley," Malfoy's lips curled in disgust and Harry was surprised to see Ron and Malfoy seemed to hate each other as much as Harry and Malfoy did. "Well, two with one stone – excellent. I shall see you in the trophy room, at midnight," Malfoy said before leaving, Crabbe and Goyle following behind as always.

Harry turned to look at Ron, wide-eyed. "You didn't have to do that."

"It's Malfoy," Ron shrugged, ears turning a little red. "Complete git. Believe me, I want him down as much as you do."

"Brilliant," Harry smiled. "I owe you."

"What's up with you lot? I thought Hufflepuffs stick together," Seamus said, coming to join them.

"We try to not to encourage reckless behaviour," Susan replied, narrowing her eyes, "which, Harry, I can't believe you just did. A wizard's duel? You know that's illegal!"

"The most they'll do is some pretty sparks," Ernie pointed out.

"It sounds really cool. Think I can watch?" Justin asked. "I've never seen one."

"Sure," Harry grinned.

"But we're not allowed out at night," Hannah reminded. "Won't you lose points?"

"No," Harry said remembering the Invisibility Cloak. He needed to tell Ron about that. "Wait, what's this? You've been out at dark already!" he nudged Hannah.

"Only to the kitchens!"

"Well, we can work on it. Each night we'll take you out a little bit further. By seventh year, you'll be running fearlessly around the castle, like a true warrior queen!" he declared. Susan huffed and thumped him. "Ow! What did I do?"

"Don't you listen to him," Susan told Hannah. "Come on, I don't want to miss lunch."

As the group started to move, Harry dropped back to walk with Ron and the other two. "Listen, I'll meet you outside your common room at half eleven."

"How do you know where it is?" Seamus asked.

Harry stared at him. Neville probably wasn't supposed to have told Harry, and he didn't want to get his friend in trouble. "I read a book."

"A book?"

"That thing which you open, start to read -"

"I know what a book is!" Seamus exclaimed over Ron and Dean's sniggers. "What if you get caught?"

"We won't get caught," Harry said confidently. The three Gryffindors shot him a dubious look.

Later that night, Harry and Justin were creeping along the hallways under the cloak. Even though it had fit Harry snugly before, when he'd used it to cover him and Justin it expanded to just the right size. He hoped the same would follow with Ron, and then wondered just how many people it would actually cover. If his father used it, it should have been able to cover three – him, Sirius and Remus.

"This is exciting," Justin whispered. "It's so quiet! And dark!"

"Dark at night? I never knew."

"Oy," his friend grinned. "You -" they both froze when they saw a light at the end of the corridor and then quickly pressed together against the wall. Harry covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle his breathing, as Professor Quirrel walked past without a glance at them. When his back was to them Harry started to relax, but then Quirrel stopped and turned back suddenly, narrowed eyes staring at the corridor.

He was still wearing his turban, but seeing as this was the guy who was usually scared in broad daylight, seeing him so confident in the dark was really weird.

Eventually Quirrel left and Harry and Justin continued to the seventh floor without any incident, but Harry wondered if maybe there was something more to Quirrel. Surely he would be more scared at night than in day? Unless he was a vampire? But no, he used a lot of garlic…

"What are we looking for again?" Justin asked, halting at the stairs.

"Um," Harry decided to forget about Quirrel for now and tried to remember what Neville had said. "A fat lady, he said."

"Does she sing?"

"What?" Harry glanced at him as they slowly walked down the corridor. "I dunno, maybe. She's prolly not very good at it." He blinked when Justin snorted with laughter. "What? What?!"

"Nothing," Justin grinned.

They both jumped as one of the portraits straight ahead swung open. Ron stepped out and looked around worriedly as it closed behind him. Harry pulled off the cloak and waved a hand when Ron was looking in their direction. Ron's eyes widened.

"Since when are you headless?"

"Oops," Harry grinned and stepped out from the cloak entirely. Justin's head was then visible and Ron looked scared for a moment before it clicked, and then a grin grew on his face.

"You have an invisibility cloak!" he breathed. "Wicked!"

"Yup, it's amazing right?" Harry bragged before gesturing to it. "Come on, we don't wanna be late else Malfoy will hold it over us forever."

Ron joined them under the cloak and then glanced at Justin. "What're you doing here?"

"I've never seen a wizard's duel," Justin replied. "Just sounds really cool."

To their surprise, the Gryffindor portrait hole opened again. They fell silent, only to be surprised as first Neville, then Hermione, stepped out. Hermione didn't look very happy about it.

"I hope we're not too late," she said. Neville shushed her and she lowered her voice. "I don't want to lose any points."

"You'll just earn them back in class," Neville said and looked around. His shoulders slumped. "They've probably already gone. Come on," he started to walk. Harry shared a surprised look with Ron. Were they looking for them?

Justin, who got along well with Neville, reached out and grabbed him when he passed by, causing the cloak to slip away so only his arm was visible. Hermione let out a loud shriek, scrambling back, while Neville shouted in surprise and yanked himself away. In the silence of the night they sounded like the loudest things Harry had ever heard.

"Shut up!" he flung the coat off and clapped a hand over Hermione's mouth just before she screamed again in surprise. Neville paled but then, catching sight of the cloak now on the floor, realised what had happened.

"Is that -"

"Shh!" Harry said and they all fell silent, listening in case anyone joined them. After a few minutes of listening to their heavy breathing, and nothing else, Harry started to relax. He met Hermione's wide eyes and finally took his hand off. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't want you to scream again."

"You…" Hermione turned red and then stomped on his foot.

Harry yelped and grabbed his foot, hopping back on the spot. "What was that for?!"

"For scaring me! And for doing this stupid thing!" she said.

"Is that why you followed me?" Ron asked.

"You could get in serious trouble!"

"No! Really?"

Harry glanced at his watch. It was nearly quarter to twelve. "Guys, shut up," he said. "Look, if we want to get there on time we should go. If you want to come, come, if you want to stay then stay," he looked up at Hermione who was about to protest, "but we're going and there's nothing you can say to stop us."

"Leave it Hermione," Neville said softly.

"But -"

"They won't get caught, not with that cloak and there's no way Harry will lose to Malfoy." Neville shot him a grin and Harry saluted him back, a shared grin at the memories of Harry's curses and hexes making Malfoy's life a misery.

"They're still breaking the rules!"

"You should speak to Susan," Harry said. "Come on."

He, Ron and Justin slipped under the cloak again. Hermione huffed and then stormed back into the common room, leaving Neville to shrug at the empty space. He looked a bit upset, like he really did want to come with them, but then Hermione poked her head out looking for him and his mouth shut.

"We'll wait up for you," he whispered and then went back in with Hermione.

Harry watched him go until Ron tugged on his sleeve and they made their slow way down to the Trophy room. The cloak did cover all three of them thankfully, but that didn't stop them from stepping on each others toes and bumping into each other and it was a chortling trio that finally stumbled into the Trophy room just a few minutes before midnight. Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. Harry pulled off the cloak and stuffed it down his front, out of sight.

"Think he'll turn up?"

"Hope so," Ron said. "Been looking forward to knocking him down some pegs."

"I've been doing it all the time," Harry said. "Who do you think got his shoes stuck to the stairs?"

"That was you?" Ron gaped. Harry buffed his nails on his chest with a grin. "Wicked! Can you teach me?"

"I have this book – I'll lend it to you," he said. He didn't need it anymore anyway. "There's loads of good curses in there."

"Isn't this exciting?" Justin said, peering at the trophies. "Even if he doesn't, we've sneaked out at night and not been caught," he shot a grin over his shoulder. "I –"

Footsteps in the corridor were heard and Justin shut up. Ron and Harry nodded at each other, pulling out their wands so they were ready if Malfoy tried to curse them right off the bat. It was the sort of thing he'd do. However, then they heard a voice that made all of them freeze.

"Where are they, my pretty?" Filch crooned from the corridor outside. A meow answered him.

"Uh oh," Harry breathed and turned to the other two wide-eyed boys. "Quick! Under the cloak!" He pulled it out and swirled it over their shoulders. They shifted to the far corner, huddling together and making sure their feet were definitely tucked in it, just in time; Filch peered around the corner, a lantern lighting his way, and they were all blinded for a few moments.

"There's no one here," Filch said and started to turn back when Mrs Norris darted through his legs into the room. With a start Harry realised being invisible wasn't going to cut it when Mrs Norris could smell them.

How could he have forgotten that? Remus had drilled it into him! Humans were the only things that relied heavily on sight – all other animals had much more powerful senses. She would find them and Filch would get them, and then they'd get detention but once they found out why they were here, maybe even expelled! Wasn't there a spell he could use to distract her? No, Filch would hear him...

"This is gonna stink a bit," Ron muttered before shifting and dropping something on the floor. In seconds Harry started to smell something – he clapped a hand over his nose and mouth, eyes watering, before his brain caught up with his body. Ron had used a stink pellet to mask their scent!

Mrs Norris was obviously repelled by the smell and avoided their corner, instead retreating back to Filch. With a large scowl on his face, Filch moved back down the corridor, muttering to himself about time wasters.

When he was gone and everything was silent for a few minutes, Harry pulled the cloak off and clapped Ron on the shoulder. "That was brilliant!"

"I guess it stuck a bit more than a bit," Ron admitted, kicking the pellets on the floor.

"That was a close one," Justin breathed, collapsing against the wall. "What did you do?"

"Stink pellets," Ron said. "Fred and George gave them to me. 'Bout the first time something they did came in handy…"

"You use them for pranks and stuff," Harry said.

"Seems to get rid of cats pretty good too," Ron added before looking back at Harry. "If Malfoy bumped into Filch… or maybe he told him, the git! Why else would he be here at this exact time?"

"So no duel?" Justin asked disappointedly.

"That's a slimy Slytherin for you," Harry said.

"Good thing you had your cloak – thought we were goners!"

"The cloak is amazing," Harry agreed. He suspected it was the thing his dad had said he slipped in when Harry wasn't looking. Harry would thank him when they met at Christmas. It gave him a lot more freedom. "Come on, sitting around here won't do anything."

"Uh…" Ron said.

"Oh," Harry remembered about the houses. "We'll walk with you, then make our way back," he decided.

Justin's shoulders slumped. "All those stairs…"

"Oy, just be grateful you don't have to climb it when you forget a book," Ron pointed out. Justin pulled a face. "All seven floors – completely mental."

They put the cloak over them once more and left, but they didn't get very far before they hit another snag. Peeves was going along the corridor, talking loudly and waking up the portraits, but because they were under the cloak he didn't see them and, swooping down the corridor, ploughed straight through them. They all gasped at the feeling of being doused in cold water and stumbled back, Justin tripped on the cloak and sending all of them to the floor.

"What do we have here? Ickle firsties on a stroll?" the poltergeist grinned manically. "Filch was looking for yous, yes he was! What to tell him, what to tell?"

"Keep your voice down Peeves!" Ron hissed. "You'll get us caught!" Harry frowned at the ghost. Peeves was a wild card, never seemingly affected by previous encounters. One moment he could be helping them, the next he would be the one getting them in trouble.

"Naughty firsties, very naughty indeed! Should be telling Filch about this, I should," Peeves rocked himself side to side. "What're firsties like you up to?"

"We're causing mischief," Harry spoke up, deciding to try and get Peeves on their side. "But please, we're relying on secrecy to get there on time. We'd really appreciate it if you would be quiet and let us go by."

"... but that's boring!" Peeves whined. "I don't like boring! How about this? STUDENTS OUT OF BED ON THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

The three boys exchanged terrified glances.

"Run!" Harry said, knowing Filch was nearby, and they all scrabbled to their feet. Putting on the cloak would only slow them down and he made sure to hold it tightly. As they turned the corner he crashed into a suit of armour and, although he managed to break free without falling, the suit wasn't so lucky. He winced as it fell to the ground, even louder than Hermione's earlier scream.

"Well done," Ron said.

"I try."

"There's a locked door!" Justin said, coming to the door at the end of the dusty corridor. Harry looked back, hearing Filch, and glanced at the other two. They stared back, just as clueless, and Harry gritted his teeth. He should know how to unlock doors – it was the first thing all mischief makers learnt. Surely his family would have used it at some point?

"We're gonna be expelled," Justin moaned.

"Shut up! He'll hear you!" Ron said.

Harry's eyes snapped open. If there was ever a time he was in doubt… he turned to the lock and held out his wand. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." he waved his wand, but although the lock glowed nothing happened. He bit his lip. Sirius wouldn't have said that unless it was important. He tightened his grip, shut his eyes and desperately willed the lock to open as he said, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good!"

There was a click. He turned, wide-eyed, to Ron and Justin, before pulling the door open. They all stumbled inside and shut the door behind them. Harry pressed his ear to the door, listening for Filch, but he couldn't hear a thing – the door must be very thick.

"Harry…" Ron croaked.

"Shh!" Harry said. Justin whimpered. "Come on guys, shut u -" he broke off as he realised what they were looking at. A giant three-headed dog was staring at them. In a flash, Harry remembered a conversation with Remus.

_You're interested in the Cerberus?_

_Yeah! Three headed dog, how cool is that? _

_You'd have to feed them a lot, you know. _

_Can't they go hunting?_

_They get very big. They might scare other people._

_Well they won't scare me! I'll find one and make a pet of them, and a nundu too! Then no one will ever mess with me!_

_A nundu as well as a Cerberus? I don't know if we'll have enough room! Where will they go?_

_They can stay in my room!_

"I…" Harry said. The three heads started growling. "I don't think you'll fit in my ro-"

"Run!" Ron shouted and they yanked open the door. They got through and slammed the door shut behind them before running for their lives, through the dusty hall and into the corridor, up the staircase, until they were up on the seventh floor with their hearts pounding and gasping for breath. They reached the Gryffindor portrait, struggling to stop and instead bouncing back off the wall with a grunt and smarting nose.

If he had another nose bleed…

He sat down, his legs suddenly wobbly, and the other two soon followed as they tried to catch their breath.

"Harry," Justin said.

"Yeah?"

"Next time I want to come out with you… stop me."

The bespectacled boy snorted. "Got it."

"We were almost eaten!" Ron exclaimed. Harry would have told him to be quieter but he couldn't find the breath.

The portrait swung open then, Neville and Hermione peering out. The looks on their faces when they saw the three boys on the floor made Harry laugh and, to his surprise, he found he couldn't stop. It only made him laugh harder and soon both Ron and Justin were laughing as well. Sharing a worried look, Hermione and Neville managed to coax all of them inside the common room so they weren't in the corridor attracting attention.

"What's so funny?" Hermione demanded. "Did you get caught?! You did, oh no, how could you? How many points have we lost?!"

"We got caught," Harry said, leaning against the wall in a sitting position, "but not by a teacher."

"A dog," Ron said.

"A big dog," Justin added.

"With large teeth," Ron moaned.

"And three heads!"

"Are you okay?" Neville asked, eyes wide.

Harry glanced at Justin who had now put his head between his knees before looking back at Neville. "Malfoy was never gonna show, he went and told Filch. We managed to escape him, but then we met Peeves…" he sighed. "So we were running, and found a locked door, so I unlocked it and we went in and…"

"I guess even dogs need midnight snacks," Ron muttered.

"We could have been eaten," Justin said in a small voice.

"But we weren't!" Harry said and nudged Justin with his foot. The other Hufflepuff looked up, eyes teary. "Instead we get to tell everyone we've seen a three-headed dog! How cool is that?"

"A locked door? Was it rusted, about this size," she used her hands to show them, "after going through a long corridor, a door at the end?"

"You really are a know-it-all," Ron boggled at her. Hermione gave him a dirty look.

"Harry," Neville said slowly, "do you remember when I said on our first day, me and Hermione -"

"- found a locked door that turned out to be the third floor corridor," Harry finished. "Filch caught you, but you got lucky as it was your first day."

"I think, I'm very happy we didn't get any further," Neville nodded. "Yes, very happy."

"Did you use Alohamora?" Hermione asked. "I read about it afterwards, looking to see if there were any spells. I bet that would have worked on the door."

"No, I used a spell Sirius told me," Harry said. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

"I've never heard of that spell," Hermione leant forward eagerly. "What does it do?"

"Unlocks doors, weren't you listening?" Ron said.

"I dunno," Harry shrugged. "Sirius told me it, said if I was ever in doubt it would help. It unlocked the door." Hermione didn't look pleased with that explanation, but Harry couldn't do anything about it.

"Are you okay though?" Neville asked, looking between the three. "You look really pale. Were you hurt?"

"We're fine… I think," Harry got up slowly and looked around. For the first time, it sunk in he was in the Gryffindor common room. He inspected it, heart pounding nervously. It was hard to see it, given it was dark, but the light from the fire showed him enough. It was red and gold, round like his, but a little bit smaller and there were two staircases on either side of the room. A portrait hung over the fire.

It looked very nice.

Not for the first time, Harry felt a pang as he knew he'd never stay here. Had his father and friends sat in that corner, plotting their next prank? Had his mother read a book on that chair, by the fireplace?

"I wonder what's on that floor," Hermione mused.

"A giant dog," Justin reminded.

"There wasn't anything else though?"

Harry, Ron and Justin shared a look. "We were too busy looking at its heads, I think," Harry said.

"But it must be there for something, why else would they put a dog there?" Hermione frowned. "Maybe a guard dog?"

"Who cares?" Justin got to his feet too, looking around the room in surprise before turning to Harry. "Can we head back now?" he asked. Harry felt a bit sorry for him, looking at how scared he was, and nodded. Truth be told, he still felt pretty shaky. Ron seemed calmer now he was back in the common room, but suddenly Harry felt this room was stifling – like he was pressed down with the weight of his parents, expecting him to live here but it never came to be. He wasn't comfortable.

"Will you two be alright?" Neville asked.

"We'll be fine," Harry grinned. "That's the third time you've asked, _mum_."

Neville coloured red. "I-I just -"

"I still have the cloak," Harry said. "We'll use that. And never go near the third floor corridor again."

"Good plan," Justin pointed at him. "I like this."

"If you're sure," Neville said. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Yeah… yeah," Harry said. "Hey, Ron? Thanks for coming as my second, even if nothing came of it."

"When you get back at Malfoy, come find me first," Ron said. "I really owe him now."

"Will do," Harry said. "Come on, Justin."

With a last look behind him at the Gryffindor common room, they hurried out and slipped the cloak on. Both eager to go back, they made it down the stairs in record time and soon they were crawling back to their common room, with its plants and comfy chairs and warm earthy smell that soothed their nerves instantly. Harry pulled off the cloak and they tip-toed into the dorms, past the older students, till they got to theirs at the end. They walked in and the light switched on, blinding them both.

"There you are!" Ernie hissed. "What happened?" Zacharias was awake too, a sour look on his face. Harry and Justin shared a glance and then told their fantastical tale. They were disbelieving, not that Harry blamed them, but he didn't really care. He shoved his invisibility cloak into his suitcase and then collapsed on the bed.

He was asleep in seconds, and considering the day's events it was no surprise he was flying around the pitch being chased by a three headed dog with Malfoy and Snape sat on two of its heads, while his family and friends sat cheering in the stands for Harry, _but Harry was on a comet two sixty and slow. The mouth of the middle dog closed over him and he was suddenly in pitch darkness._

_He stumbled forward, looking around, searching for a speck of light. "Where am I?" he called, twisting around and getting no response. "Hello?" His voice echoed but when the echo died there was just nothing. He shivered, arms wrapping around his waist, and then there was a sudden scrabbling sound, like something running towards him... or away from something._

_Harry kept spinning around in a circle, trying to see where the noise was coming from, and suddenly to his left a dog appeared. The grim? No, it was Sirius – Sirius in his dog form. "Sirius!" he called, but Sirius ran straight by like he didn't even see Harry. Harry watched him disappear, feeling betrayed, and then turned as a new noise came. A large stag, proud and tall, came galloping towards him – it was his dad. "Dad!" he yelled and the stag halted in front of him. It seemed to smile and butted Harry's hand with its wet nose and then his dad was gone, following Sirius's route, and Harry watched him go feeling very bewildered and confused._

"_Dad!" he called after the animal. "What..." he trailed off and shivered. In the far distance, where his dad and Sirius had gone, red eyes glowed. Harry's breath caught and he was frozen as they danced around him, lunged forward suddenly, and Harry saw the purple wrap and garlic smell of Professor Quirrel and he pulled back, trying to escape -_

_- _he woke up, breathing fast, covered in sweat and eyes wide. His heart pounded fiercely in his chest and he trembled in his bed, taking in the familiar sights of his four poster bed and using that to convince himself he was safe. He sat up and felt a spark of pain in his palms. He held up a hand and saw four faint moon-shaped cuts in his palm, from his nails. He'd dug them so deep they'd cut skin.

"Eh? Harry? You're awake?" Harry jumped, twitchy, and spun around to see Ernie and Justin blinking at him. "Do you think we're still asleep? Harry's never up this early." Ernie asked Justin in a low tone.

"Did that dog keep you up?" Justin asked. "It did me, I just kept running away from it but I couldn't run fast enough..."

Harry rubbed at his eyes with his sweaty palms, trying to shake off the dream and his tremors. It had felt so real, so terrifying… it didn't feel like he'd slept at all. He lay back down and pulled the covers over his head as his dorm mates started to go around their normal morning routine. He shut his eyes and tried to imagine he was back by the lake in Godric's Hollow, helping Peter to swim, watching Uncle Remus be thrown in by Sirius and his dad while his mum sunbathed.

No worries about a three-headed dog nearby ready to eat them all if he managed to break through that door.

_Well, it won't fit through that door,_ Harry told himself. _If it was gonna escape, it would probably break through the walls. We'd have plenty of warning.  
_

But he didn't feel very reassured.


End file.
